Treaty basis of the freedom of navigation on international rivers from the perspective of international law applicable to water resources

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the issue of the freedom of navigation on international rivers in light of international law and international practice. An analysis of relevant provisions of pertinent treaties which determine the scope of that freedom and the rules that govern its use leads to a conclusion that no universal principle of freedom of navigation on international rivers has been formulated, nor can be found in the norms of customary international law. This subject is presented from the perspective of contemporary international law applicable to water resources, which is linked to international environmental law. Its regulations, and in particular the 1997 Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, do not provide for such universal freedom of navigation on transboundary watercourses. Similar approaches may be found in the work of the International Law Commission, for example in its 1966 Helsinki Rules and 2004 Berlin Rules.