News Archive
Publishing a Peer-reviewed Article (Scopus) by Hebron University Law Faculty on Conflict Resolution Relating to Palestine Maritime Zones
Dr. Mutaz M. Qafisheh, Professor of International Law at Hebron University College of Law and Political Science, published a peer-reviewed article titled ‘Law of the Sea Dispute Settlement in Eastern Mediterranean with Particular Reference to the Delimitation of Palestine’s Maritime Boundaries: Negotiation, Conciliation, Arbitration or Adjudication?’ Diplomatica: A Journal of Diplomacy and Society (on Scopus), Brill/Nijhoff, Leiden, Vol. 6, No. 1 (2024), 1-30. The article can be accessed through this link:
The article shows that Palestine currently holds contractual relations with 167 States under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. unclos’s dispute settlement mechanisms might vary depending on the process States have opted for. In order to pick a preferred mechanism, a State Party should deposit a declaration with the UN Secretary-General. As it did not file any such declaration, Palestine is deemed to have accepted arbitration by default. However, Palestine can still deposit a declaration to choose other procedures and therefore open the possibility to resort to the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, or a special arbitration. Yet, the neighboring States have different approaches. While Egypt has cast opposition to arbitration regarding boundary delimitation, Israel is not a Party to unclos and does not recognize its settlement mechanisms. How can disputes be resolved? Would conciliation work? What are exit channels? This article answers such questions.
Although it has been written before October 7th, the article uncovers certain aspects relating to the current war on Gaza, particularly the relationship of the Gaza maritime zones to Palestine neighboring States: Israel, Egypt and Cyprus.
