Lecture summary: In 2009, in the midst of a harsh winter, populations in seventeen states, some of them EU members and others situated in the Balkan region, were left without gas and heating for thirteen days owing to a dispute between Russia and Ukraine concerning exports and transit of gas. The international press reported numerous deaths due to cold temperatures. All states involved were bound by treaty obligations regarding transit, imports and exports of gas: under the Energy Charter Treaty and/or the WTO Agreement. While the international responsibility of Ukraine or Russia was not formally invoked, this crisis has had an unprecedented influence on European energy policy and law, and has triggered the conclusion of a number of treaties between EU member states and third states concerning transit pipelines with a view to diversifying energy supplies. It has also raised awareness of the impact of interruptions of energy transit/exports on markets and human populations.
Against this background, the question as to the place of international energy law between reciprocity and community interest becomes pertinent. By using as a case study legal instruments of European focus, the lecture will consider whether treaties on energy trade and transit reflect community interests or are an expression of the individual interests of states generating bilateral/bilateralisable obligations – a question which has consequences in the law of international responsibility, especially standing. It will also reflect on whether exporting and transit states can interrupt energy flows as a countermeasure in response to the breach of international obligations by states dependent on that particular route for the transit of energy, especially in light of the effect that such interruptions may have on the human rights of individuals in importing states.
Danae Azaria is a Lecturer at UCL Laws. She is a general public international lawyer with a particular interest in state responsibility, the law of treaties and international energy law. Her monograph, Treaties on Transit of Energy via Pipelines and Countermeasures, was published by Oxford University Press in 2015. She is a member of the Legal Advisory Task Force of the Energy Charter Secretariat.
Audio
Duration: 44 mins 10 secs
Lower bandwidth versions of this audio are also available at the University Streaming Media Service
Speaker: Dr Danae Azaria, Lecturer in Law, UCL
Date: Friday, 11 March 2016
Time: 1pm with sandwiches from 12.30pm
Venue: Finley Library, Lauterpacht Centre, 5 Cranmer Rd, Cambridge
The Lauterpacht Centre Friday lecture series is kindly supported by Cambridge University Press.
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