Reflections on the settlement of fisheries disputes between the EU-UK in the post-Brexit era: Lessons for China’s fishery enforcement disputes settlement

Abstract

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement sets out in details the mechanism for resolving fisheries disputes between the EU and the UK. It consists of the following core components: the mechanism for the settlement of fisheries disputes arising from access to waters, the mechanism for the settlement of fisheries disputes arising from failure to fulfill fisheries obligations, the Specialised Committee on Fisheries as a platform for consultation, and the Arbitration Tribunal for Disputes. Although it has assisted both parties to resolve fisheries disputes peacefully within the framework of international law, the implementation of the mechanism still faces a number of challenges. At present, China is facing long-term and complex fishery enforcement disputes with neighboring countries. Although China has signed bilateral fishery cooperation agreements with several countries, the establishment of an effective fishery enforcement settlement mechanism on fisheries remains unresovled. This paper on the EU-UK fishery dispute mechanism aims to provide some experience and lessons for China to resolve fishery enforcement disputes with neighboring countries more effectively. This paper is mainly divided into three parts, the first part is mainly about the overview of the EU-UK fishery dispute mechanism, the second part is the dilemma of China's fishery enforcement dispute settlement, and the third part is the lessons from the EU-UK fishery dispute mechanism.