Untitled Page

Author	Prof IGNACIO DE LA RASILLA
Organisation/Institution	WUHAN UNIVERSITY
Country	CHINA
Panel	International Law
Title	Empirical Pathways in the Law of the Sea: Trends in Asia-Pacific Participation before the UNCLOS Tribunals (1999-2024)
Abstract	Empowering Asia's rise is contingent on resolving long-standing maritime delimitation disputes in the region. This, in turn, requires a thorough empirical understanding of how Asia-Pacific countries have utilized the dispute resolution mechanisms provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This paper aims to fill a research gap regarding the participation of the fifty-three members of the Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States, also known as the Asia-Pacific Group of the United Nations (APG), in the dispute settlement mechanisms of Section 2 of Part XV of UNCLOS, including the compulsory conciliation mechanism under Article 298(1)(a) as well as the advisory jurisdiction of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).It is the first study to offer a systematic empirical analysis of Asia-Pacific States’ participation in UNCLOS tribunals over the past 25 years, with a focus on subregional trends. Section I surveys all UNCLOS State Parties' engagement in both contentious and advisory proceedings, supported by two comprehensive tables. Section II provides a thematic overview of contentious cases involving Asia-Pacific States before ITLOS and Annex VII tribunals. Section III analyses Asia-Pacific participation specifically, highlighting subregional variations with four detailed tables and three maps, and explores the growing involvement of Asia-Pacific States—including China—in ITLOS’s advisory jurisdiction. The conclusion synthesizes the article’s key empirical findings and evaluates the prospects and constraints of future Asia-Pacific engagement with UNCLOS tribunals. It further distinguishes between intraregional and interregional disputes, noting a parallel decline in contentious participation and an increase in advisory proceedings since 2010, signalling a shift in how Asia-Pacific States interact with UNCLOS dispute settlement mechanisms.
Biography	Prof. DE LA RASILLA holds the Han Depei Chair in International Law and he is ‘One Thousand Talents Plan Distinguished Professor’ at the Wuhan University Institute of International Law since 2018. Chief-Expert at the Wuhan Academy of International Law and Global Governance (National Top Think Tank), Associate Dean-at-large (internationalisation) of Wuhan Law School, Vice-Dean (international affairs) of the Institute of International Organizations and the International Rule of Law, and founding co-Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Journal of Transnational Law (SAGE). He studied in Spain (LL.B. (5 years qualifying law degree), Univ. Complutense of Madrid), Switzerland (MA &; PhD, The Graduate Institute, Geneva), The United States (LLM (Harvard); Fellow in Global Governance and Law (Watson Institute, Brown University) and Italy (Post-Doctoral Max Weber Fellow in Law (European University Institute, Florence), FHEA. He is the author of well over 110 academic publications in international law including as the author of fifty-plus international law articles in leading double blind-peer-review academic law journals and as the sole author or co-editor of nine international law books. He is the awardee of the (honorary) title of "Ambassador of the Silk Road Friendship' (2025), the triennial ‘Chimes Bell Award’ for High-Level Foreign Experts (2023) and of the Han Depei National Law Book Prize (2021. His research interests spans different areas of the history and theory of international law, many sectoral areas of international dispute settlement as well as China & international law related subjects. For list of publications and other details, please visit: www.ignaciodelarasilla.com