Effective Implementation of the Stockholm Declaration and the London Convention Regime on Dumping: Dynamically Incorporating the Development of the Concept of Environment in the Twenty-First Century into the LOSC

Abstract The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( LOSC ) has an established dynamism by which it can incorporate newly developed concepts concerning the environment and environmental harms. This dynamism consists of two methods that function in conjunction with each other: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal development of the LOSC is realised by its interplay with treaties and international documents, particularly under Part XII . Vertical development takes place within each treaty regime through protocols and annexes, and amendments thereto. Vertical development of the London Convention regime on dumping can support the horizontal development of the LOSC . For that purpose, precise assessment as to whether newly emerging matters fall under the London Convention regime, being mindful of its objects and purposes, is critically important. From this perspective, Japan’s discharge of treated water containing tritium from land , which is not dumping, falls outside the London Convention regime on dumping.