南海领土争端中的国际法渊源适用探析

南海领土争端主要包括岛礁归属与海域划界两个方面.不同的国际法渊源在南海领土争端的法律适用中具有不同的作用.目前,中国主要倚重以国际习惯为代表的传统国际法规则,周边国家则大多根据《联合国海洋法公约》对抗甚至否认中国对南海岛礁及其附近海域的主权.借助国际法渊源理论,对南海领土争端中可能适用的各种法律渊源加以界定和分类后,可以确定国际条约与国际习惯的适用顺位是问题的核心,而国际习惯在解决南海领土争端问题上的优先地位应予尊重.

On the application of international law sources in territorial disputes in the South China Sea

The territorial disputes in the South China Sea mainly involves island sovereignty and maritime delimitation. Differ-ent sources of international law play different roles in the law application of the disputes. At present, China mainly relies on traditional rules of international law represented by international customs. Neighboring countries, however, are mostly against or even deny China＇ s sovereignty over South China Sea islands and adjacent waters by United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This paper attempts to define and classify the potential law sources that might be applicable to the disputes, focu- sing on the application sequence of international treaty and customs, and then demonstrates the priority of application of inter-national customs in setting the South China Sea territorial disputes.