The Chagos Marine Protected Area

Farran, S

doi:10.1017/9781108893770.009

The Chagos Marine Protected Area

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Sue Farran ORCiD

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This is the authors' accepted manuscript of a book chapter that has been published in its final definitive form by Cambridge University Press, 2021.

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Abstract

One consequence of the administration of the Chagos Archipelago, which was henceforth to be known as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) was the establishment of a Marine Protected Area around the islands in 2010. The status of this as a no-take fishing area was successfully challenged by Mauritius under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in March 2015, although the UK has continued to maintain that the establishment of the MPA is unaffected by this ruling. The ICJ opinion found that the whole process of decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed and that the UK is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago. The UN General Assembly adopted the ICJ Opinion in May 2019. The future of the MPA is therefore in doubt. This paper considers some of the issues raised by the ICJ Opinion and the UNGA resolution in so far as they relate to the MPA.