From Global Commons to Global Accountability: The Erga Omnes Obligation to Safeguard Marine Biological Diversity as Common Heritage of Humankind

Abstract

Environmental degradation, particularly the irreversible decline of marine ecosystems and biodiversity, presents a significant global challenge that underscores the urgent need for marine environmental protection as an international obligation. This article seeks to address the understudied research question of whether the protection of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction constitutes an erga omnes obligation for all states, emphasizing the need to remedy the existing lacuna in ensuring responsibility, accountability, and liability toward current and future generations. To tackle this issue, the article analyses international responsibility and liability frameworks surrounding marine environmental protection, emphasizing the necessity for shared responsibility of the international community toward the marine environmental commons. In this context, we explore the implications of the Common Heritage of Humankind principle under the BBNJ Agreement and the contributions of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in shaping these frameworks. The research findings will contribute to the discourse on marine biological diversity and genetic resources conservation for present and future generations by elucidating the imperative for robust liability and accountability frameworks capable of effectively addressing the devastating marine biodiversity decline.