Recently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a conference on international law in Bangkok to provide a space for a young generation of lawyers. It was a timely reminder that, even though the international system is fragile, Thailand should engage actively with what remains of it. There are also new cogs in the wheel of that spectrum.
International law is the set of rules that guide the conduct between states and between states and other international actors. Traditionally, it was rather top-down, treating individuals as objects of duty rather than as subjects of rights. However, this has been changing due to a more horizontal approach, which provides room for non-state stakeholders.
International rules, such as the prohibition of threat or use of force by one state against another state, are now complemented by more grounded norms and mechanisms to enable the protection of individuals and communities.
The fact that some superpowers violate international rules, such as those in the UN charter, does not justify internationally wrongful acts by other entities. This is pertinent to those rules that protect the international order from aggression and destruction, on the one hand, and human and environmental well-being, on the other.
Even if a superpower has reneged on climate-change-related commitments, Thailand still needs to pass clean-air and climate-change laws expeditiously and ensure cross-border cooperation.
There are other key directions of note.
First, even if multilateralism, represented by the UN, is fragmented, various opportunities open the door to engagement. The plurilateral approach of involving multiple countries, even if not entirely universal, is still worth exploring. The Investment Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organization remains important to help reduce paperwork for investment affecting developing countries, even though the appeals process for trade disputes is now blocked by omnipotent channels.
Second, there are new multilateral settings which offer a doorway to cooperation. An emerging example is the treaty on the protection of oceans beyond national jurisdiction (known as the Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction or BBNJ), which regulates activities on the high seas.
The majority of countries now agree that if there are to be areas for exploration and exploitation, they must be subject to due diligence and environmental impact assessments, which cannot be left to the unilateral action of a state. Thailand should aim to have representation in the various committees under this treaty.
Third, regional and bilateral arrangements can help to reduce the impact of the weakened multilateral system. For Thailand, whatever the vicissitudes of international trade, it is essential to finalise a free trade area with the European Union, with an impact on not only trade and commerce but also as a shared political umbrella for partnership covering digitalisation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and human security-cum-development.
Fourth, various agreements that protect the interests of foreign investors need to be adjusted to ensure the fair treatment of developing countries. There are scores of these investor-state agreements that impose an excessive burden on the latter with respect to the notion of fair and equitable treatment. In reality, this means that foreign investors can bypass local jurisdictions by taking disputes to external arbitration, resulting in exorbitant awards from arbitration panels (sometimes with transparency problems). The right of the country receiving the investment to regulate the process was raised at the conference. There is more room to employ national judicial systems to ensure the exhaustion of local remedies rather than to shift investment disputes to unpredictable external quarters.
Fifth, preparedness and astute planning are essential to enable the country to negotiate in the various dispute settlement mechanisms at the international level. Resort to the International Court of Justice is unlikely for the country due to its past experience with the court. On sea-related matters, there are other options, such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea or arbitration, both of which can lead to binding decisions. Under the Law of the Sea Convention, if such mechanisms are not chosen, the default process is compulsory conciliation with non-binding recommendations, while being open to consensual processes such as negotiation and consultation. In regard to conciliation, to date, the process has been facilitated by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, dating back to the pre-World War I era, with arrangements still pertinent today.
Sixth, while international peace and security remain at the heart of global issues, there are new aspects of that panorama. The protection of civilians in times of war remains ever relevant under international humanitarian law. Recently, an international treaty on cybercrimes was adopted, underscoring the need for action in cyberspace, where rampant online scams and other violations are prevalent. The power-based context surrounding these elements, including the presence of non-democracies, should not be overlooked.
Seventh, intelligent communication strategies are essential in a world of increasing misinformation and disinformation. This invites a proactive approach to employ all possible channels -- multilateral, regional and national -- to ward off hate campaigns from abusive settings and to trigger political, media and other forms of leverage to counter distortions.
Eighth, the term "middle powers" has come to the fore, inviting this country to coalesce with African, Central/South American and other regions to overcome the dilemma of irresponsibility emanating from various superpowers. With regard to resources, whether land, sea, air or space, there are some domains which should belong to "common humanity" rather than one state alone. Certain "commons" such as the stars and the planets should not be open to national appropriation.
Finally, sustainable human development and human rights remain pivotal for international and national action. The current global sustainable development goals, which began in 2015, will expire in 2030. Planning for the future is essential, even if some superpowers have become more insular and pugilistic.
The next phase of development planning will not be able to sidestep issues of war and peace, climate change and related disasters, and the advent of non-state actors, such as the business sector, and non-humans, such as AI.
A spiritual response (not necessarily religious) invites the global public not only to be immersed in materiality but also to be open to psychosocial interaction and socialisation with empathy, such as through caring and sharing actions, inspired by local-global wisdom.
