Conference: Revisiting the Notion of ‘Community’ in International Water Law

Transboundary watercourses necessarily establish a 'community', that of riparian states’ “community of interest” in the basin. While international law has developed as a state-centric system, the current challenges the world is facing are not the problem of one state and its neighbours; they are a global problem. This interconnectedness requires a deep exploration of the notion of 'community' and its horizontal and vertical expansion across, first, the layers of international law and other areas of public international law, such as international economic law, international human rights, the law of climate change, etc; a "community of convergence". And second, through international, regional, sub-national layers of the basin; “community of communities”.

The Conference is co-organised by the Edinburgh Centre for International and Global Law and the International Water Law Academy (Wuhan) and welcomes the ILWA affiliates and academics to present abstracts and work in progress. The panels' themes (TBC) include 'community' in the context of State sovereignty and territorial integrity, SDGs, solidarity in international law, indigenous communities and jurisprudence of the ICJ, among others.

The Keynote speech will be delivered by Professor Dan Tarlock, Distinguished Emeritus Professor, Chicago-Kent College of Law.

For more information, please contact Dr Ana Maria Daza Vargas: anamaria.dazavargas@ed.ac.uk

This event is hybrid. 

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