REPORTS OF INTERNATIONAL ARBITRAL AWARDS RECUEIL DES SENTENCES ARBITRALES Proceedings pursuant to the OSPAR Convention (Ireland – United Kingdom) 2 July 2003 VOLUME XXIIIpp. 59-151 NATIONS UNIES - UNITED NATIONS Copyright (c) 2006 PART II Dispute Concerning Access to Information Under Article 9 of the OSPAR Convention between Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Final Award Decision of 2 July 2003 Différend opposant l'Irlande au Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande du Nord concernant l'accès à l'information prévu par l'article 9 de la Convention pour la protection du milieu marin de l'Atlantique du Nord-Est (Convention OSPAR), Sentence définitive Décision du 2 juillet 2003 DISPUTE CONCERNING ACCESS TO INFORMATION UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE OSPAR CONVENTION BETWEEN IRELAND AND THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, FINAL AWARD, DECISION OF 2 JULY 2003 DIFFÉREND OPPOSANT L'IRLANDE AU ROYAUME-UNI DE GRANDE-BRETAGNE ET D'IRLANDE DU NORD CONCERNANT L'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION PRÉVU PAR L'ARTICLE 9 DE LA CONVENTION POUR LA PROTECTION DU MILIEU MARIN DE L'ATLANTIQUE DU NORD-EST (CONVENTION OSPAR), SENTENCE DÉFINITIVE, DÉCISION DU 2 JUILLET 2003 Tribunal constituted pursuant to the 1992 Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic ("the OSPAR Convention"). Applicable Law: The "rules of international law" to be applied by such a Tribunal include the OSPAR Convention as well as customary international law and general principles unless and to the extent that the Parties have created a lex specialis not inconsistent with a relevant jus cogens. Other instruments may be considered if the OSPAR Convention contains a direct renvoi thereto; for purposes of inteipretation under article 31 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties; and to avoid anachronistic results inconsistent with current international law when construing an international instrument concluded in an earlier period ("actualisation or contemporization" of an international instrument). Jurisdiction and admissibility: The primary purpose of using similar language in the two legal instruments concerned (i.e. OSPAR Convention and EU Directive 90/313) is to create uniform and consistent legal standards in the field of the protection of the marine environment, and not to create precedence of one set of legal remedies over the other. The competence assigned by international law to a national system does not exclude the responsibility of a State for the inadequacy of such a system or the failure of its competent authorities to act as prescribed by an international obligation or implementing legislation. Article 9(1) of the OSPAR Convention: Disclosure of information is an obligation of result rather than merely providing access to a domestic regime directed at obtaining the required result (majority decision). Article 9(2) of the OSPAR Convention: The scope of infoimation subject to the obligation of disclosure (i.e. "information...on the state of the maritime area") includes infoimation concerning existing or prospective activities or measures affecting or likely to affect adversely the maritime area—available information, in contrast to a general freedom of infoimation statute. Ireland's claim for information does not fall within article 9(2) of the OSPAR Convention and, consequently, Ireland's claim that the United Kingdom breached its obligations under Article 9 of the OSPAR Convention does not arise (majority decision). Tribunal constitué en application de la Convention de 1992 pour la protection du milieu marin de l'Atlantique du Nord-Est (« la Convention OSPAR »). Droit applicable : Les « règles de droit international » que doit appliquer un tel tribunal compiennent la Convention OSPAR ainsi que le droit international coutumier et les principes généraux, sauf dans la mesure où les parties ont créé une lex specialis qui n'est pas incompatible avec un jus cogens peitinent. D'autres instruments peuvent être pris en compte dans les cas suivants : si la Convention OSPAR y renvoie directement; aux fins d'interprétation conformément à l'article 31 de la Convention de Vienne sur le dioit des traités; et afin d'éviter des résultats anachroniques incompatibles avec l'état actuel du droit international lorsque l'on inteipiète un 62 IRELAND/UK instrument international conclu à une époque antérieure (« actualisation ou contemporanisation » d'un instrument international). Compétence et recevabilité: Le fait d'utiliser des formulations identiques dans les deux instruments juridiques concernés (la Convention OSPAR et la directive 90/313 de l'Union européenne) a pour principal objectif de créer des normes juridiques uniformes et cohérentes dans le domaine de la protection du milieu marin, et non pas de faire en sorte que l'une des séries de voies de recours l'emporte sur l'autre. La compétence assignée par le droit international à un système national n'exclut pas la responsabilité de l'État concerné si ce système national est inadéquat ou si les autorités compétentes dudit État manquent à une obligation prescrite par un instrument international ou par ses textes d'application. Article 9-1 de Ja Convention OSPAR: La mise à disposition des informations est une obligation de résultat à laquelle on ne satisfait pas en se contentant de donner accès à un régime national visant à obtenir le résultat requis (décision de la majorité). Article 9.2 de la Convention OSPAR : Les informations soumises à l'obligation de mise à disposition (c'est-à-dire «toute information ... concernant l'état de la zone maritime») comprennent les informations concernant les activités ou les mesures affectant ou susceptibles d'affecter la zone maritime - c'est-à-dire l'information disponible et non pas seulement celle qui relève d'un régime général de liberté d'information. La demande d'information de l'Irlande n'entre pas dans le champ d'application du paragraphe 2 de l'article 9 de la Convention OSPAR et, en conséquence, l'allégation de l'Irlande selon laquelle le Royaume-Uni aurait violé les obligations qui lui incombent en vertu de l'article 9 de cette convention n'est pas fondée (décision de la majorité). DISPUTE CONCERNING ARTICLE 9 OF THE OSPAR CONVENTION 63 Table of Contents I. Introduction 64 II. The OSPAR Convention 64 III. Factual Background 71 IV. The Claims and Submissions of the Parties and Questions Raised for Determination by the Tribunal 79 V. Procedural History 81 VI. The Tribunal's Findings 86 VII. Applicable Law 86 1. Interpretation 86 2. The Sintra Ministerial Statement 88 3. "Applicable International Regulations" 89 VIII. Findings with Respect to Article 9(1) 92 1. The Parties' Arguments 92 2. The Tribunal's Decision with Respect to Jurisdiction Under Article 9(1) 95 IX. Findings with Respect to Article 9(2) 102 1. The Parties' Arguments 102 2. The Tribunal's Decision with Respect to the Claims Relating to Article 9(2) 104 X. Costs Ill XI. Conclusion Ill Final Award 112 Declaration of Professor W. Michael Reisman 113 Dissenting Opinion of Gavan Griffith QC 119 Tribunal: Professor W. Michael Reisman, Chairman Dr. Gavan Griffith QC Lord Mustill 64 IRELAND/UK I. INTRODUCTION 1. This matter concerns a dispute between Ireland as claimant and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ("the United Kingdom") as respondent, determined by a Tribunal constituted pursuant to the 1992 Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic ("the OSPAR Convention").1 The issue concerns access to information as defined by the OSPAR Convention. Ireland has requested access to information redacted from reports prepared as part of the approval process for the commissioning of a Mixed Oxide Plant ("the MOX Plant") in the United Kingdom, based on Ireland's understanding of Article 9 of the OSPAR Convention. The United Kingdom has declined to provide the information requested based on its understanding of the OSPAR Convention. II. THE OSPAR CONVENTION 2. The OSPAR Convention comprises 34 articles, five annexes and three appendices. Under Article 14(1), "[t]he Annexes and Appendices form an integral part of the OSPAR Convention." Article 14(2) provides: "The Appendices shall be of a scientific, technical or administrative nature." 3. Article 1 sets out definitions, to be considered as necessary in the course of this award. Article 2 provides: GENERAL OBLIGATIONS 1. (a) The Contracting Parties shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, take all possible steps to prevent and eliminate pollution and shall take the necessary measures to protect the maritime area against the adverse effects of human activities so as to safeguard human health and to conserve marine ecosystems and, when practicable, restore marine areas which have been adversely affected. (b) To this end Contracting Parties shall, individually and jointly, adopt programmes and measures and shall harmonise their policies and strategies. 2. The Contracting Parties shall apply: (a) the precautionary principle, by virtue of which preventive measures are to be taken when there are reasonable grounds for concern that substances or energy introduced, directly or indirectly, into the marine environment may bring about hazards to human health, harm living resources and marine ecosystems, damage amenities or interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea, even ' Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, 22 September 1992, 32 ILM 1069 (1992). Ireland and the United Kingdom are both Parties to the OSPAR Convention. DISPUTE CONCERNING ARTICLE 9 OF THE OSPAR CONVENTION 65 when there is no conclusive evidence of a causal relationship between the inputs and the effects; (b) the polluter pays principle, by virtue of which the costs of pollution prevention, control and reduction measures are to be borne by the polluter. 3. (a) In implementing the Convention, Contracting Parties shall adopt programmes and measures which contain, where appropriate, time limits for their completion and which take full account of the use of the latest technological developments and practices designed to prevent and eliminate pollution fully. (b) To this end they shall: (i) taking into account the criteria set forth in Appendix 1, define with respect to programmes and measures the application of, inter alia, — best available techniques - best environmental practice including, where appropriate, clean technology; (ii) in carrying out such programmes and measures, ensure the application of best available techniques and best environmental practice as so defined, including, where appropriate, clean technology. 4. The Contracting Parties shall apply the measures they adopt in such a way as to prevent an increase in pollution of the sea outside the maritime area or in other parts of the environment. 5. No provision of the Convention shall be interpreted as preventing the Contracting Parties from taking, individually or jointly, more stringent measures with respect to the prevention and elimination of pollution of the maritime area or with respect to the protection of the maritime area against the adverse effects of human activities. 4. Article 3 provides: POLLUTION FROM LAND-BASED SOURCES The Contracting Parties shall take, individually and jointly, all possible steps to prevent and eliminate pollution from land-based sources in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, in particular as provided for in Annex I. 66 IRELAND/UK 5. Article 4 provides: POLLUTION BY DUMPING OR INCINERATION The Contracting Parties shall take, individually and jointly, all possible steps to prevent and eliminate pollution by dumping or incineration of wastes or other matter in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, in particular as provided for in Annex II. 6. Article 9 provides: ACCESS TO INFORMATION 1. The Contracting Parties shall ensure that their competent authorities are required to make available the information described in paragraph 2 of this Article to any natural or legal person, in response to any reasonable request, without that person's having to prove an interest, without unreasonable charges, as soon as possible and at the latest within two months. 2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is any available information in written, visual, aural or data base form on the state of the maritime area, on activities or measures adversely affecting or likely to affect it and on activities or measures introduced in accordance with the Convention. 3. The provisions of this Article shall not affect the right of Contracting Parties, in accordance with their national legal systems and applicable international regulations, to provide for a request for such information to be refused where it affects: (a) the confidentiality of the proceedings of public authorities, international relations and national defence; (b) public security; (c) matters which are, or have been, sub judice, or under enquiry (including disciplinary enquiries), or which are the subject of preliminary investigation proceedings; (d) commercial and industrial confidentiality, including intellectual property; (e) the confidentiality of personal data and/or files; (f) material supplied by a third party without that party being under a legal obligation to do so; DISPUTE CONCERNING ARTICLE 9 OF THE OSPAR CONVENTION 67 (g) material, the disclosure of which would make it more likely that the environment to which such material related would be damaged. 4. The reasons for a refusal to provide the information requested must be given. 7. Article 10 establishes a Commission of representatives of each of the Contracting Parties, sets out its duties, and, with respect to those duties, authorizes the Commission to "inter alia, adopt decisions and recommendations in accordance with Article 13." Article 13(1) states that "[decisions and recommendations shall be adopted by unanimous vote of the Contracting Parties." If unanimity is not attainable, decisions may be taken by a three-quarters majority vote of the Contracting Parties and will become binding on those voting for it, if, at the end of 200 days after its adoption the number of Contracting Parties who have notified the Executive Secretary that they are unable to accept the decision does not reduce the number of tliose accepting the decision to below three-quarters of the Contracting Parties to the OSPAR Convention. 8. The provisions for amendment of the OSPAR Convention, addition and amendment of annexes, and addition and amendment of appendices are not relevant to the issues in dispute in this case. 9. Article 28 provides that no reservations may be made to the Convention. 10. Article 31 provides for the continuing force of decisions, recommendations, and all other agreements adopted under the Oslo and Paris Conventions2 to the extent that they are compatible with the OSPAR Convention and have not been terminated by its procedures. 11. Article 32 of the OSPAR Convention provides:3 2The Convention for the Prevention of Maiine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft (Oslo), 932 UNTS 3 (1972), and the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Land-based Sources (Paris), 13 ILM 352 (1974). 3 It should also be noted that the last preambular paragraph of the Rules of Procedure for this Tribunal (the "Rules of Procedure for the Tribunal Constituted Under the OSPAR Convention Pursuant to the Request of Ireland dated 15lh June 2001") provides: Whereas the Applicant and the Respondent (together, the Parties') have decided that the procedure of the arbitration of the Dispute shall be in accordance with the following rules (the 'Rules'), which shall replace Articles 32(4) to 32(10) of the OSPAR Convention, insofar as they do not impair the lights of other States Parties to the OSPAR Convention. The OSPAR Tribunal Rules of Procedure may be found on the website of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (hereinafter "PCA") at www.pca-cpa.org.