Accommodating a Future Plastics Treaty: the ‘Plasticity’ of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

Abstract This article examines how the existing legal landscape on marine pollution may accommodate a new treaty on plastics pollution, potential legal bottlenecks, and what this tells us about the ‘plasticity’ of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( LOSC ) vis-à-vis new rules. It explores how such a new treaty may set the threshold for regulatory action by States in their implementation of the source-specific pollution provisions of the LOSC and the added complexity this may cause. It also considers that whilst the implementation of key LOSC marine environmental pollution obligations is subject to a degree of differentiation, a matching duty to assist certain States in fulfilling their responsibilities is currently lacking. Whilst the LOSC remains relevant today in the fight against marine plastics pollution, the plastics treaty under discussion can supplement and enhance the existing regime.