The Future of Arms Control Law: Towards a New Regulatory Approach and New Regulatory Techniques
1 Dr. Erwin Dahinden, Rapporteur of the Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament Law of the International Law Association.
Regulatory approaches and techniques will become an important focus of future arms control efforts. This article identifies its main elements and illustrates this recent development on the basis of current multilateral arms control negotiations. It shows that this new approach is very resilient to changing political developments, has a strong preventive component and is crisis resistant. Furthermore, the success of the new regulatory approach is closely linked to an effective implementation of the agreements whether they are politically or legally binding. The emphasis is no longer on intrusive international verifications or diplomatic high-level conferences but on the ability and capability of each state to effectively implement the concluded agreements. Success is no longer measured in terms of the number of ratifications but on the basis of the effectiveness and thoroughness of national implementation efforts. Because national implementation is an important element, the new approach can more effectively deal with the non-state actors than traditional arms control approaches. In addition, if necessary, the international community should provide technical, legal and financial assistance to promote implementation in less developed countries.