| Article 11 of the UN Watercourses Convention serves as a bridge to the more general substantive norms, such as those rights and obligations described above in Part II, and the procedural aspects of Part III which deal with the provision of information and the consultation process regarding planned measures. Part III postulates a general obligation of watercourse states to provide their co-riparians with information concerning the possible effects that planned measures might have on the condition of an international watercourse. Furthermore, the article requires watercourse states to consult with each other, and if necessary to negotiate, on the effects of such measures.
The general rule of prior notification has reached the status of a customary international legal obligation; it is applicable regardless of whether a special agreement between the initiating and the potentially affected states exists.257 This explains the use of the word ‘shall’ – being mandatory – rather than following the mere recommendatory approach of the 1966 Helsinki Rules.258 However, it should be noted that, subject to compliance with the procedural and substantive obligations of the Convention, states do not necessarily have a veto right over the development of an international watercourse.259
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