“Due Regard” Obligations, with Particular Emphasis on Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone

'Due regard' obligations occur when a state, in exercising a right, is bound to take into consideration the existence of conflicting rights and interests of other states and to balance their respective importance. They are frequently found in international law of the sea and the LOSC. Within the exclusive economic zone, where the applicable regime is the result of the balancing of the rights of the coastal state with those of other states, international practice shows that the balance shifts in favour of the coastal state if conflicting fishing activities are at stake. The balance may change if other kinds of activities are in conflict within the same zone. Two recent arbitral awards-on the Chagos Marine Protected Area case and the South China Sea case-elaborate on 'due regard obligations'.