Law of the Sea

Opinion: Arctic Powers Canada and US Need Arctic Thinkers

By Joël Plouffe and Simon Sylvester-Chaudhuri

Greenland: A Laboratory For The Symptoms Of Global Warming

Once again, all eyes will turn to the Arctic this week as Canada sets to file its UN claim over an extended continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean. As a signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 2003, in order to obtain exclusive rights over the upcoming claim to… Keep reading →

 /  Published December 4, 2013 at 3:30 PM

From the Lawyers: A Rock or an Island?

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“No rock is an island,” atoll tale from Herbert Smith, a quote that stands out given the significance of Okinotorishima and its status under the international law of the sea.

In 1931, approximately 350 years after mariners of all stripes began passing by (or over, depending on the tide) a coral reef referred to through the ages as Parece Vela (“looks like a sail”) and Douglas Reef; the Japanese navy (seeing a hydroplane base where others had seen a sail, or less) claimed this unassuming atoll for Japan and named it “Okinotorishima.” Keep reading →

 /  Published August 1, 2012 at 1:30 PM

Energy Book Review: ‘The Eskimo and The Oil Man’ by Bob Reiss

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In retrospect, it isn’t surprising that there is a market for writing that fits nicely into the niche between the analytical musings of the Economist and the heart-thumping pace of a Jason Bourne thriller.

A little bit populist and much faster paced than traditional writing about current events, while still retaining a seriousness of purpose but steering clear of the polemics of a Michael Moore documentary, the idea for this generation books is fact that reads like fiction. Perhaps it is “a thriller for the CNN generation” or, given reading patterns in the US, just as likely an “Agatha Christie for the CSPAN generation.” Keep reading →

 /  Published May 25, 2012 at 11:30 AM