| Abstract |
The Río Silala is the world in miniature.On December 1, 2022, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), issued its Judgment concerning the Río Silala. 1 Watched on the world stage, the case, and its outcome, sent ripples through the international community.The Dispute Over the Status and Use of the Waters of the Silala River, also referred to as Chile v. Bolivia, involved a disagreement between the Republic of Chile and the Plurinational State of Bolivia over the river's status and the countries' respective rights and obligations pertaining to its flows, demonstrating the complex relationships between natural resources and human institutions developed to manage them.Chile v. Bolivia illustrates how political, socio-economic, and environmental forces fuel resource competitionthe river's basin aptly deemed the most "hydro-politically vulnerable basin" in the world-raising important questions for international law and its capacity to remedy transboundary water disputes. 2These questions are not novel in the Anthropocene era.Yet as nation-states grapple with them amidst anthropogenic climate change, the dialogue is more critical than ever. 1 |
, Jenna VonHofe 
