The Rhine Chlorides Arbitration Concerning the Auditing of Accounts (Netherlands–France)

With an Introduction by Professor Laurence Boisson de Chazournes

The “Rhine Chlorides” Arbitration (2004), one of the few international watercourse arbitrations yet conducted, decided the dispute between the Netherlands and France concerning the auditing of accounts in relation to the reduction of chloride discharges into the Rhine River. France was obliged to undertake certain measures under the Additional Protocol of 1991 to the 1976 Convention on the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution by Chlorides, with the costs to be shared between four of the five states parties (The Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Germany) according to a specific formula. The Arbitral Tribunal was required to interpret and implement this formula and determine the methodology of calculation to be used in the final auditing of financial contributions paid in advance by The Netherlands to France.

The Award was rendered in French, and thisunique bi-lingual edition includes its first, unofficial, English translation. An introduction by Professor Laurence Boisson de Chazournes skillfully analyses the Award, discussing the aspects of treaty interpretation that came into play and highlighting the importance of the economic aspects of environmental protection and of the management of international watercourses.