PhD defence Selman Aksünger

Keywords: Sea-level rise, Permanent sovereignty over natural resources, Climate displacement, International law of the sea

"Beyond Shifting Shores: Rethinking Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources in the Context of Sea-Level Rise"

This thesis investigated what happens to a nation's rights over its natural resources when rising seas threaten its land. Climate change is causing the territory of low-lying island States such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, and the Maldives to shrink and, in extreme cases, to disappear beneath the ocean. Traditional international law ties sovereignty over resources tightly to physical territory. The research examined whether the well-established principle of Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources can be read in a people-centred way, so that rights over fish stocks, seabed minerals and other resources continue to belong to the affected people even after their land is lost. Combining doctrinal legal analysis with recent State practice and the 2025 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on climate change, the thesis proposes a practical legal framework for affected States, host States and the international community.

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