Strathclyde Law School before the highest judicial body of the United Nations
Prof Francesco Sindico has just returned from The Hague where he acted as Counsel for the Plurinational State of Bolivia in the Case over the Dispute over the Status and Use of the Waters of the Silala (Chile v. Bolivia). The case was held before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest judicial body of the United Nations. The oral pleadings lasted two weeks from 01 to 14 April and a final decision by the Court is expected towards the end of 2022.
International Law in practice
Francesco was part of a team of international lawyers from the United States of America, France, Singapore, Spain, Nicaragua together with the domestic team from Bolivia.
Commenting on the case, Francesco said: “It was a pleasure and honour to represent Bolivia in this case. The ICJ tends to deal with traditional public international law matters or maritime boundary cases. International environmental law is not so common. The Silala case is one of these few cases and it deals also with international water law, an area that I have been working on for many years. Experiencing first hand international dispute settlement at the highest possible level was a unique experience. The opportunity to practice international water law, a field that I have been looking at in my research, has been a fantastic experience!”
Contributing to a team, in this case of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, in a case before the ICJ has enabled Prof Sindico to hone his skills in general international law and international water law in a unique way. Strathclyde students will benefit from Francesco’s practical experience within the Strathclyde / SCELG LLM Global Environmental Law and Governance. Prof Sindico, upon his return, stressed: “International law in practice is not something you see every day. Two weeks of oral pleadings and all the work that takes place around it is something that will stay with me forever. I can’t wait to share insights and my practical experience with my LLM and PhD students!”