BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The so-called "South China Sea arbitration awards" run counter to the international judicial practice, according to a report released on Thursday.
The report, titled "Legal Critique of the South China Sea Arbitration Awards -- 'The South China Sea Arbitration Awards Are Not International Law'," was penned by scholars from the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, Jinan University, Ocean University of China, and Shanghai Maritime University.
The report presents its analysis along three main threads -- arbitral jurisdiction, the application of substantive rules, and the validity of the awards.
The issue of jurisdiction is the most decisive legal obstacle in the case, according to the report.
It elaborates that China and the Philippines had previously reached a consensus to address South China Sea disputes through bilateral consultations and negotiations.
More importantly, as early as 2006, China issued a government declaration pursuant to Article 298 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, expressly excluding disputes concerning maritime delimitation and other categories from the compulsory dispute settlement procedures of the Convention.
With respect to such disputes, the Convention's arbitration mechanism does not have automatic jurisdiction, says the report, stressing that such facts rendered the arbitration devoid of any foundation of judicial jurisdiction from the very outset.
The report also criticizes the "arbitral tribunal" for dismembering China's territorial sovereignty over the Nansha Qundao and citing uncorroborated evidence from single sources on multiple occasions.
The award texts are replete with internal contradictions and arbitrary conclusions, reflecting grave deficiencies in professionalism, the report adds.
The report stresses that the awards are devoid of any legal effect under international law as they are rendered by an "arbitral tribunal" that lacked judicial jurisdiction. They also suffer from fundamental flaws in the application of law and violate fairness and justice.
It further notes that certain arbitrators abandoned independent judgment from the very beginning and catered to the instructions and demands of the political forces behind them, causing the tribunal to completely lose credibility.
The award on the merits is even more riddled with legal loopholes and errors in the application of law, violating international law, the report adds.
Over the past decade, the awards have not only failed to resolve disputes or promote peace, but have instead created obstacles for advancing the international rule of law in the South China Sea region, standing as a retrogressive current in the history of international law, says the report. ■
