  We analyse the definition of quasi-local energy in GR based on a Hamiltonian
analysis of the Einstein-Hilbert action initiated by Brown-York. The role of
the constraint equations, in particular the Hamiltonian constraint on the
timelike boundary, neglected in previous studies, is emphasized here. We argue
that a consistent definition of quasi-local energy in GR requires, at a
minimum, a framework based on the (currently unknown) geometric well-posedness
of the initial boundary value problem for the Einstein equations.
