Peter Germanos: The Legal Rights of the United Arab Emirates in the Strait of Hormuz
Peter Germanos published an article on Transparency News on the legal rights of the United Arab Emirates in the Strait of Hormuz.
He argues that the UAE holds legally protectable rights and interests that go beyond its commercial dependence on the Strait, in three capacities: as a State whose vessels enjoy passage through an international strait, as a directly affected Gulf coastal State, and as the State claiming sovereignty over Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb.
Relying on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and on the customary rule recognised by the International Court of Justice in the Corfu Channel case, he concludes that Iran cannot suspend transit passage, make it conditional on its own authorisation, or impose disguised tolls that do not correspond to a service actually rendered.
He holds that Iran's effective control over the islands does not by itself establish title, and that the UAE's continuous protests defeat any claim of acquiescence. Under Article 34 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, an Iranian and Omani arrangement cannot be opposed to the UAE without its consent. The UAE's seat at the table in any permanent arrangement for Hormuz, he concludes, rests on established principles of international law and not only on strategic necessity.