Hi, my name is Lukasz Zbylut and I will be directing the Legal Committee at HMUN 2012. I am currently a junior at Harvard, and am jointly concentrating in Government and Philosophy, with a secondary field in Astrophysics. The topics I have chosen are both current and captivating. They are at the heart of international law. I truly believe both that you will have fun researching these topics and that they will contribute to a very lively debate about the substance of space and sea law. That being said, I expect exp

ert command of the relevant material from each delegate. In return, I promise that your experience will be unlike any previous experience at Model United Nations you may have had. Rather than a definition driven debate, you can expect sessions full of intrigue, unexpected developments, strategizing, coalition building, crises, and more! We are a large group of delegates, and our numbers will permit the debate of numerous issues pertaining to international law. Occasional visits by national leaders, testimonies by experts and jurists, and events that might change the course of history, will make your experience unforgettable. I only ask that you arrive fully prepared to debate the issues and ready to make new friends.

Law of the SeaChanges in global climatological patterns are likely to place much pressure on international law as it pertains to the law of the sea. The expected decline in ice covering much of the Arctic Ocean and increase in global sea levels will create significant diplomatic, political, and economic challenges for the international community. Although an extensive legal corpus is already in existence, the diplomatic realities of international cooperation have not only left a number of pertinent issues unaddressed, but also, where they have been addressed by treaties, resolutions, and agreements, the language is often vague and definitions lacking.

Recent trends in the ice cover of the Arctic prompted the six nations surrounding the Arctic Ocean, Russia, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Canada, and the United States to lay territorial claims to parts of the seabed, initiating what some international observers call a modern ‘Scramble for the Arctic.’ Various rights attend possession of maritime territory, including movement, exploration, and resource exploitation. Prospects for sizable deposits of oil and gas in the seabed and for at least two, continuously available, shipping routes in the region reignite contentious claims among the six nations.

Generally a country’s territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from its coast, and its exclusive economic zone extends 200 nautical miles from its coast. A country can also lay claim to what lies on or under its continental shelf within 350 nautical miles of its shore by submitting geological and hydrological evidence supporting their claims that their continental shelf extends past the arbitrary 200 nautical mile limit.

When two nations have claims under these rules, they resolve their claims either through bilateral agreements or through international arbitration, the resulting boundary line being equidistant between their two shorelines. While some regions of the Arctic Ocean are too distant from the shore of any one nation to claim under international rules, others are already subject to politically charged, competing claims. Still other members of the international community condemn the efforts of these six nations to profiteer from what they term a climatologic disaster and insist that no nation’s claims to Arctic Ocean territories should be internationally recognized.

Aside from addressing the legal issues surrounding disputes in the Arctic, the international community has been tasked with forming and reviewing international sea law pertaining to island and archipelagic nations. The expected increase in global sea levels will lead to the disappearance of much, if not all, of these nations’ territory. The United Nations should form a corpus of legal remedies for the displaced millions. Current adaptation measures to climatological change dictate mutual assistance and possible relocation. However, no provisions currently exist which will guarantee the preservation of national sovereignty of climate refugees, among other things.

The international community should not neglect various fringe issues of sea law, ranging from international torts liability to international piracy.

These topics are meant to structure debate regarding the international community’s role as the ultimate authority on the law of the sea and relevant issues. While successful resolution of many legal issues will require international cooperation, there is room for coalition building and strategic policy making. Careful attention to policy needs of each nation will be expected of every delegate, whose responsibility it is to create a vision for the future of international law of the sea.

Space LawThe recognition of need for a body of law addressing outer space arose with the successful launch of the first artificial satellite by the Soviet Union in 1957. While a number of early collaborative policy successes astonished an ideologically divided world, much of the initial law has recently been termed incomplete and obsolete. Even the arguably most important accomplishment of international space law, the terming of outer space as “the common heritage of mankind,” has come under attack from both state and non-state actors.

The five most important international treaties addressing space law established crucial limitations on national actors, ranging from preventing appropriation to arms control. Damage liability and rights of exploration have also been addressed. However, nearly all of these early gains have come under attack from actors seeking benefit from the infinite resources of outer space.

The United Nations expects that issues ranging from the definition of outer space, to commercial space transportation, to commercial development and settlement of outer space will reignite debate and foster animosity between developed and developing nations. The many nations prevented from space exploration by its high cost fear that they may be outmaneuvered by early players. This is especially true of the geostationary orbit. Not only do nations of similar longitudinal but different latitudinal position disagree about orbit space allocation, but also the limited number of potential orbit space will likely exclude latecomers. Potential conflict in this domain is fueled by the Bogota Declaration of 1976.

While as the law currently stands no part of outer space may be appropriated by any nation, powerful forces push nations presently capable of space exploration to make claims to regions of national interest. Exclusive resource extraction and surveillance rights are among a myriad of motives that might lead state actors to disregard international conventions.

However, state actors are no longer the only source of international concern. A great portion of outer space exploration is currently done by non-state actors. International space law presently insufficiently addresses non-state claims to territory. As to the exploitation of outer space resources and minerals, the law is neither clear on liability nor on the equitable allocation of profits nor on what constitutes the celestial bodies excluded from such exploitation. While efforts should be made to promote further exploration of outer space, this should not come at the price of environmental destruction.

The regulation of telecommunication devices in outer space and adequate property, both real and intellectual, protections are also issues to be addressed by international law. Intellectual property law, in particular, will prove a very contentious issue as greater amounts of sensitive research is expected to be done in outer space and on the international space station. Military research, as always remains a contentious issue, even though permanent military installations in outer space are essentially prohibited. Added to these are issues of space equipment and debris. Telescopes, satellites, and rocket remains currently orbit the Earth, posing danger to life on the planet and to future exploratory missions. Adequate rules of orbit maintenance should be formulates so that outer space does not become the waste dump of the future.

These topics will structure debate regarding the international community’s responsibility as the caretaker of outer space. Successful resolution of legal issues will require international cooperation, but there is room for maneuvering and strategy. Delegates should expect very lively debate and numerous unexpected developments.