The potential of ad hoc expert panels in resolving disputes under the BBNJ agreement: lessons learned from fisheries management

Abstract Alternative dispute resolution has been recognized as an important element in the law of the sea. In fact, the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) and some regional fisheries management organizations envision the use of an ad hoc expert panel for technical disputes. As illustrated by its successful use at the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation, an alternative forum comprising experts in a non-adversarial setting can make a valuable contribution to dispute resolution in a fisheries context. The Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) also contains a provision on technical disputes, substantively identical to the UNFSA. This article considers whether ad hoc expert panels under the BBNJ Agreement can serve as a forum for expeditious and appropriate dispute resolution and how this could be strengthened.