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The Rules-Based Order, International Law and the British Indian Ocean Territory: Do as I Say, Not as I Do

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Elena Katselli

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

Perpetuating Britain’s controversial administration of the Chagos Archipelago (or BIOT – British Indian Ocean Territory) raises questions about the UK’s commitment to the rules-based order and international law. This interdisciplinary article examines British administration of the Chagos Archipelago by taking a legal-international relations perspective. It provides an overview to the rules-based order concept and its relation with international law, briefly examines the Territory’s history, and outlines how the BIOT violates the principles enshrined in the rules-based order concept, specifically promotion of self-determination, prohibition of forced displacement and respect for international institutions. This study is significant due to its timing – set in a period of increased international pressure on the United Kingdom to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius – and also significant in a period of increased rules-based order strain throughout the Indo-Pacific. This article argues that, despite Britain’s assertion that it is a champion of the rules-based order, of which international law is a component, continued British administration of the Chagos Archipelago is in contravention of both. In an era of rules-based order strain, brought about by the rise of China and a surge in nationalistic populism, British BIOT policy provides fertile ground to criticisms of its foreign policy and international law selectivity and double standards.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Bashfield S, Katselli Proukaki E

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: German Law Journal

Year: 2022

Volume: 23

Issue: 5

Pages: 713-737

Online publication date: 29/06/2022

Acceptance date: 04/08/2021

Date deposited: 10/08/2021

ISSN (electronic): 2071-8322

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/glj.2022.44

DOI: 10.1017/glj.2022.44

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