General Assembly Resolution #510 “Marine Protection Act” (Category: Environmental; Industry Affected: All Businesses - Strong) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.
The World Assembly finds as follows:
- Resolutions may not be amended, but may be repealed and resubmitted with modifications. Repeals, therefore, are the only way to correct errors.
- GA 510 "Marine Protection Act" would have the World Assembly create environmental regulations over international waters indirectly. GA 2 "Rights and Duties of WA States" prohibits the World Assembly from legislating into existence a police force that would enforce such policies, regardless of their jurisdiction. This includes marine police that could do things such as fight piracy on the open seas or enforce these regulations. Nor does GA 2 permit the World Assembly to deputise member nation naval forces to execute this function on its behalf.
- It is foolish for the Assembly to create regulations over areas it does not and cannot control. Nor would it be wise to place enforcement of international law into the hands of vigilante nations acting without the authorisation of the international legislature. Without any coordinated economic or forceful response to such violations, any such regulations serve mostly to displace member nation activities in regulated areas, while giving a wide berth for non-member nations to continue their exploitative practices unimpeded.
- The definition of "regulations" in section 1 of GA 510 "Marine Protection Act" is profoundly unclear: no tests or guidance are provided as to the meaning of a "reasonable restriction". Restrictions banning most forms of economic activity or even visitation could be held as reasonable for the goal of protecting the area, just as restrictions which fail to prohibit destructive economic activities could also be held as reasonable on the basis of reducing poverty for local fishermen.
- Clearer standards than "reasonable" are necessary on this topic. Moreover, the Assembly broadly ought to refrain from passing resolutions which heavily rely on reasonableness tests without clear and legislatively-defined standards with which reasonableness can be determined. The sense of the Assembly also is that resolutions which rely so heavily on such nebulous standards ought to be repealed.
Now, therefore, be GA 510 "Marine Protection Act" repealed.
