James Fry and Maria Jose Alarcon on The centrality of riparian community interests in ICJ adjudication of bilateral water disputes (JERL)

“The centrality of riparian community interests in ICJ adjudication of bilateral water disputes“
James Fry and Maria Jose Alarcon
Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law
Published online: September 2025

Abstract: The jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice consistently focuses on the ‘community of interest of riparian states’ when resolving its international water disputes, including those disputes of a bilateral nature. Contrary to the beliefs of some scholars, global community interests also do not feature in these cases. Using as its foundation a population census of all international water disputes before the ICJ, this article maps out how this court and its predecessor have handled these types of disputes. It suggests that non-global, riparian community interests prevail with these disputes.