Law Officers from Small Commonwealth Jurisdictions Discuss Common Trade and Environment Issues
19 August 1997
Ministers of Law and Attorneys General of small Commonwealth jurisdictions met for their sixth Meeting, in Barbados from 28 July - 1 August 1997. The Meeting was attended by representatives from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Botswana, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, The Gambia, Grenada, Jersey, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Namibia, Nauru, St Kitts and Nevis, Swaziland, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago and Tuvalu. The South Pacific Forum Secretariat also attended as an observer.
Environmental Issues
In the course of their deliberations, the Ministers and senior law officials expressed their deep concern about the potential problem of marine pollution from ships traversing their regions. Special attention was drawn to the danger of serious environmental damage posed by the increasing number of hazardous and radioactive waste shipments through and within their regions. They were particularly concerned about the need for early notice of trans-shipment as well as the potential deleterious effects this would have on their surrounding marine environment, especially those countries within semi-enclosed seas, which also depended on activities such as fisheries and tourism as vital sources of income.
Delegates also highlighted the need for a global fund providing compensation for damage resulting from radioactive wastes, and in this regard took note of the current discussions within the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the establishment of a supplementary fund under the Vienna Convention on civil liability for nuclear damage.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) and its Related Agreements
The Ministers and Attorneys General indicated their concern about the need to confront the difficulties encountered by small states in complying with the WTO agreements and with the pressures brought to bear upon them in this respect, in particular the possible benefits and disadvantages. One such agreement of special concern to them was the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) and the resource implications in terms of the financial, legal and administrative costs of setting up an effective intellectual property regime in conformity with its obligations.
United Nations Convention on The Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
The Ministers of Law and Attorneys General emphasised the urgency for small states to be aware of, and to respond effectively to, the new institutional and legal developments ushered in by the entry into force of UNCLOS. These include the establishment of the International Seabed Authority (ISBA), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. In addition to these institutional developments, emerging global issues such as the issue of exploiting and managing straddling and highly migratory fish stocks beyond the exclusive economic zone have been a source of friction between Distant Water Fishing Nations (DWFNs) and Coastal States for a long time. The preservation of the marine environment from various sources of pollution such as dumping, shipborne pollution and land-based sources continues to be of greatest concern to Commonwealth small states.
Given the importance of these issues, the Ministers of Law and Attorneys General agreed that these concerns be brought to the attention of the Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Small States with a view to requesting Heads of Government to consider them during the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government in Edinburgh, from 24-27 October 1997.
In a message to be sent through the Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Small States to Heads of Government, they agreed that there were serious concerns arising from issues relating to environmental law, the WTO and its related agreements and the UNCLOS which threatened to increase their vulnerability as small states and which required the highest attention. The Ministers of Law and Attorneys General also agreed that new international developments were causing difficulties for them and that an enhanced level of co-operation among member countries, and particularly among the small jurisdictions themselves would contribute to easing their problems.
Note to Editors:
Conclusions and Recommendations from the discussions at this Meeting were issued separately. These are available from the Legal & Constitutional Affairs Department, Commonwealth Secretariat, Tel: +44 171-747 6408; Fax: +44 171-747 6406.
97/40 19 August 1997
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- Commonwealth ICT SummitBetty Mould Iddrisu, Director, Legal and Constitutional Affairs
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