Procedure in the Development of International Drainage Basins: The Duty to Consult and to Negotiate

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Abstract
International Drainage Basin disputes, like other disputes, may be settled in three ways: by agreement of the parties, reached after consultation and negotiation and perhaps aided by the mediation and conciliation of third parties; by submission to third party determination; and by the use of force, whether it takes the form of self-help by one of the parties to the dispute or of collective action under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Those who study international water resources problems usually conclude that these disputes are best resolved in the first of the three ways outlined, namely by agreements between the interested co-basin states. They do so not simply because voluntarily accepted solutions are likely to be more satisfactory and enduring, but because each drainage basin has its own distinctive characteristics and its problems, being peculiar to it, can be solved only by the adoption of a special regime. They therefore recommend that co-basin states should try to reconcile their conflicts of interest in the development of a drainage basin by consultation and negotiation and by any other means, such as through the good offices of third parties, leading to agreement. Indeed, some go further and assert that international law imposes an obligation on co-basin states to do so.

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