Kuwait stresses the importance of respecting state sovereignty and national practices in developing international law
Jasem Al-Ameri highlights national practices and maritime law.
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
Kuwait reaffirmed on Friday the importance of respecting the sovereignty of states and taking their national practices into account when codifying and progressively developing international law rules, emphasizing the need to rely on a careful analysis of relevant international practices and legal evidence to enhance legal certainty and the rule of law at the international level.
This was stated in Kuwait’s address delivered by Jasem Al-Ameri, Second Secretary of its Permanent Mission to the United Nations, before the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly during the discussion of agenda item 78, titled “Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its seventy-sixth and seventy-seventh sessions.”
Al-Ameri expressed Kuwait’s appreciation for the efforts undertaken by the International Law Commission in the codification and progressive development of international law rules, stressing the importance of continuing constructive interaction between the Commission and the Sixth Committee, and of giving due consideration to the views and national practices of states when reviewing the Commission’s outputs.
He emphasized the need to distinguish between codifying existing rules of international law and proposing their progressive development, and to avoid anticipating states’ positions regarding the legal nature of the conclusions and drafts prepared by the Commission or their effects.
Regarding the issue of sea-level rise in the context of international law, Al-Ameri affirmed Kuwait’s awareness of the serious challenges posed by this phenomenon to coastal and island states, along with the associated environmental, economic, social, and legal repercussions, calling for continued international cooperation to address climate change and mitigate its impacts.
He highlighted the importance of following up on the political commitments contained in the Declaration on Sea-Level Rise, adopted during the high-level segment of the 81st session of the General Assembly, in accordance with its nature and content, while taking into account the concerns of relevant states and the challenges faced by affected parties.
He stressed that discussions on this issue must be based on relevant rules and principles of international law, particularly the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, within the scope of their application.
On the subject of general principles of law, Al-Ameri called for taking into account the diversity of national legal systems and relevant international practices, and for paying particular attention to the criteria for identifying general principles derived from those systems, and for distinguishing them from principles whose emergence within the international legal system is still under consideration.
He emphasized the need for caution in determining the conditions for recognizing these principles and their scope of application, without prejudice to other sources of international law.
