The Malvinas/Falkland Islands and the Obligation to Settle International Disputes through Peaceful Means
The question of the Malvinas/Falkland Islands concerns a territorial sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Malvinas/Falklands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas. The origin of dispute can be established on 3 January 1833, when Great Britain expelled the newly independent State of Argentina from the islands at a time of peaceful and friendly relations between the two States, after having Argentina inherited the territory from Spain and having acted as sole sovereign of it since its independence.
The United Nations has characterized the Malvinas/Falklands question as a special and particular colonial case. The specificity of the case lies in the fact that the UN General Assembly has determined that the way to put an end to this special colonial situation is through negotiations between Argentina and the United Kingdom in order to settle their sovereignty dispute, taking into account the interests of the current inhabitants.
Since the armed conflict of 1982, Argentina claims that the United Kingdom has refused to settle the sovereignty dispute. The lecture will address the obligation to settle international disputes through peaceful means as applied to the Argentine-British controversy in the context of the competing claims and the relevant rules of decolonization.
Speakers´ Profile
Professor Marcelo Kohen - PhD, Graduate Institute of International Studies and University of Geneva
Marcelo Kohen is Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva where he has been a member of the faculty since 1995. He has also worked as legal counsel and advocate for a number of States before the International Court of Justice and other tribunals, in particular with regard to territorial and maritime disputes. He also acts as international arbitrator. Professor Kohen has been visiting professor at several European Universities and Rapporteur on matters of State succession and immunity of the "Institut de Droit International", the International Law and the Council of Europe. He is the author of many publications in the field of International Law, in English, French and Spanish. His research and practice focus on international law theory, territorial, maritime and border disputes as well as international dispute settlement. He was awarded the "Paul Guggenheim Prize" in 1997 for his book "Possession contestée et souveraineté territoriale" (Adverse Possession and Territorial Sovereignty). He is member of the "Institut de Droit International" (institution awarded with the Peace Nobel Prize in 1904) and since 2015 its Secretary-General. He will speak in his personal capacity.
The event is part of the series on "Maritime Delimitation Agreements and Sovereignty Claims: Current Trends and Recent Cases." The event is co-hosted by the Research Group on Natural Resources Law, the Research Group on International Law and Governance and the Public and International Law Department at the University of Oslo.