PhD student: Mr Q.H. Lu

Promotors: Prof A. Oude Elferink, L. Nguyen

Duration: 1/5/2024 - 30/4/2028

Abstract:

The Agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) was adopted in 2023. In the governance of ABNJ, different activities in the areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) such as shipping, fishing or deep-sea mining are regulated by different institutions, each with their constituent instruments, institutional bodies, and regulatory frameworks. Addressing the conservation of marine biodiversity will inevitably overlap with existing institutions. Thus, one of the crucial debates is how the BBNJ Agreement is going to interact with other institutions during its implementation. In light of this new development, this research proposes its conceptual framework of institutional interaction, which provides that institutional interaction is an interaction between two institutions. Interactions between two institutions will interact on three layers: interactions between constituent instruments; interactions between institutional bodies; and interactions between regulatory measures. In tackling the key question of how the BBNJ is going to interact with other institutions, three research questions are proposed: 1) How does institutional fragmentation correspond with institutional interaction? 2) How may it impact the functions of existing institutions concerning the governance of ABNJ?; 3) How does institutional interaction address the institutional fragmentation?