Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

3 0 2 / M A N A G E M E N T C H A L L E N G E S : S T E W A R D S H I P A N D G O V E R N A N C ESharing Water: Defining a Common InterestBox 12.6: International public law related to the non-navigational uses of sharedwater resourcesArticle 38 of the statutes of the ICJ lists the sources ofinternational law which govern the relations betweensovereign states, including those related to the use of waterresources. These are:■ International conventions:– The Helsinki Convention (1996) for the Protection andUse of Transboundary Watercourses and InternationalLakes obliges Parties to prevent, control and reducewater pollution from point and non-point sources. Itincludes provisions ensuring that transboundarywaters are used in a reasonable and equitable way,provisions for monitoring, research and development,consultations, warning and alarm systems, mutualassistance, institutional arrangements, informationexchange and public access to information.– The UN Convention on the Law of the NonnavigationalUses of International Watercourses(1997) is not yet in force, but represents theopinion of the leading experts and has anauthoritative function. Above all it indicates broadagreement among states on the general principlesrelating to equitable and reasonable resource use,the duty not to cause significant harm, ecosystemprotection, management obligations, informationsharing, conflict resolution and the protection of theresource during armed conflicts.– the pre-eminence of the last principle over theprevious one.■ General principles of law recognized by civilizednations: the following general principles were adaptedto the use of international water resources and becamevalid in this field as one source of international waterlaw:– the principle of equity, meaning that internationallaw does not operate in favour of any particularstate or group of states;– the principle Sic utero tuo ut alineum non laedas,which means that a state’s right to use sharedwaters is limited by the rights of the co-basin statesto use the resources of the same watercoursewithout being harmed in a significant manner;– the principle of equitable apportionment, whichentitles every basin state to an equitable andreasonable share of an international watercourse;– the principle of reciprocity according to which, whena state acts with its rights and obligations set byinternational law, it expects the same conduct fromother states;– the obligation to settle disputes peacefully; and■ International custom: customary international water lawprovides a fairly ‘global’ set of rules, which highlightthe following main principles:– the principle of restricted territorial sovereignty;– the prohibition of ‘substantial injury in the territoryof a co-basin state’ and the obligation of theresponsible state to compensate the suffering state;– the principle of the equitable and reasonable useand share; and– the harmonious application of national laws in caseof conflict between these.■ Judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highlyqualified publicists: one of the most important rules ofthe judicial decisions related to the non-navigationaluses of international watercourses reflects the principleof limited territorial sovereignty. This principle has alsobeen recognized by highly qualified publicists as themost adequate rule applicable to the use of sharedwatercourses, among the other principles mentionedabove.