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1.

INTRODUCTION
1.0. WHAT IS IT?

Law of the Sea is a body of international law that concerns the principles and rules of
which public entities, especially states, interact in maritime matters, including
navigational rights, sea mineral rights, and coastal waters jurisdiction.

The Law of the Sea sets down a series of rules that regulate the entitlement of coastal
states to maritime zones 1 , their rights and duties within these zones and how the
boundaries of each zone should be established.

Law of the Sea, as a branch of international law concerned with public order at sea.
Much of this law is codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,
signed Dec. 10, 1982. The convention, described as a “constitution for the oceans,”
represents an attempt to codify international law regarding territorial waters, sea-
lanes, and ocean resources.

1.1 GENERAL OVERVIEW ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SEA

We can make a long list of how the sea (ocean) and marine life are important to us. Did
you know the Oceans cover greater than 70% of the earth’s surface? They contain 99%
of the living space on earth! Without this space for organisms to survive, there would
be five fewer phyla of animals on the earth. Perhaps this is the most important reason
to protect the sea.

The seas have historically performed two important functions: first, as a


medium of communication, and secondly as a vast reservoir of resources,
both living and non-living. Both of these functions have stimulated the
development of legal rules. The fundamental principle governing the

1
See part II, V and VII of the UNCLOS (united nations convention on the law of the sea)
law of the sea is that ‘the land dominates the sea’ so that the land territorial situation
constitutes the starting point for the determination of the
maritime rights of a coastal state.

Biodiversity

Coral reefs, salt marshes, estuaries and mangrove and seagrass beds are just a few of
the ocean environments which support a large number of different species of
organisms – that is, have a high biodiversity. Estuaries are brackish water systems that
empty their waters into the world’s oceans and support many, many fish and other
organisms. Along with coral reefs, estuaries sustain 75 percent of all commercial fish
and shellfish during some point of their life cycles! Spawning organisms make reefs and
estuaries their home because animals can find an abundance of food and excellent

protection from predators. In the estuary, the seagrasses provide protection to


juveniles and food for the herbivore. Mangroves not only act as nurseries for
commercially important marine species, they also act as a filtering system for coastal
water2.

Natural resources

The ocean floor habitat is not as well-known as coral reefs or coastal areas, but it is
very important to all the organisms that live on the bottom (benthic organisms), as
well as commercially important as well. The continental shelves and ocean floor are
home to many important minerals, including oil and natural gas. Natural gas and oil play
a major role in meeting world energy needs. The outer continental shelf contains more
than 50 percent of the world's remaining undiscovered natural gas and oil resources.

Transportation

2
http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/estuaries/coastlines/summer97/hawaii.html
Not only are oceans important to sustain life, but also for moving materials that we
use. More than 90 percent world’s trade (by weight) passes through ports and
harbours. Without commercial ships and barges, transportation of goods from place
to place would be much more difficult and expensive. Cities which have good natural
harbours have always had an advantage, and even today are some of the largest cities
in the world.

Climate and weather

Did you know warm ocean waters provide the energy to fuelstorm systems that
provide fresh water vital to land-dwelling organisms? The oceans interact with and
affect global weather and climate. As the air passes over warm waters, it rises due to
warming. As it cools, condensation of the water creates rainfall. If the air passes over
cooler waters, it cools and sinks3.

The importance of the ocean cannot be debated. It truly contains some of the planet's
most fascinating ecosystems.

History of the law of the sea


i. 1493 pope divided the sea. (The Treaty Of Tordesillas)

The Treaty of Tordesillas was a treaty between Portugal and Spain in 1494 in which
they agreed to divide up all the land in the Americas between the two of them, no
matter who was already living there. Pope Alexander VI was the Pope at the time of
the treaty. He drew an imaginary line 2,193 kilometers to the we

st of the Cape Verde Islands, gave Portugal the land to the east of this line, and gave
Spain the land to the west of this line. King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella

3
1998 Project Oceanography Fall Series, p 4
of Castile were the rulers of Spain at the time and together they signed this treaty in
Tordesillas, Spain, which is how the treaty got its name.

Background to UNCLOS
The law of the sea developed from the struggle between coastal states, who sought
to expand their control over marine areas adjacent to their coastlines. By the end of
the 18th century, it was understood that states had sovereignty over their territorial
sea. The maximum breadth of the territorial sea was generally considered to be three
miles - the distance that a shore-based cannon could reach and that a coastal state
could therefore control.

After the Second World War, the international community requested that the United
Nations International law Commission consider codifying the existing laws relating to
the oceans. The commission began working towards this in 1949 and prepared four
draft conventions, which were adopted at the first UN Conference on the Law of the
Sea:

The First United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I) from
February 24 until April 29, 1958. UNCLOS I adopted the four conventions, which are
commonly known as the 1958 Geneva Conventions:

 The Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone;


 The Convention on the High Seas;
 The Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the
 High Seas; and
 The Convention on the Continental Shelf.

While considered to be a step forward, the conventions did not establish a maximum
breadth of the territorial sea.
The Second United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS II) from
March 17 until April 26, 1960. UNCLOS II did not result in any international
agreements. The conference once again failed to fix a uniform breadth for the
territorial or establish consensus on sovereign fishing rights.

The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) from 1973
to 1982. UNCLOS III addressed the issues bought up at the previous conferences.
Over 160 nations participated in the 9-year convention, which finally came into force
on November 14, 1994, 21 years after the first meeting of UNCLOS III and one year
after ratification by the sixtieth state. The first sixty ratifications were almost all
developing states.

A major feature of the convention included the definition of maritime zones- the
territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, the continental
shelf, the high sea, the international sea-bed area and archipelagic waters. The
convention also made provision for the passage of ships, protection of the marine
environment, freedom of scientific research, and exploitation of resources

1.1 COMMON TERMS ON THE LAW OF THE SEA

 The maritime zones- are sea-zones recognised under international law include,
the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, the
continental shelf, the high seas and the Area.
Read; UNCLOS from Part II.
 The baseline- is a legal construct: an artificial boundary line that determines
where a State’s maritime sovereignty and jurisdiction begins and ends. In fact,
baselines determine all areas of maritime jurisdiction. They create a demarcation
between areas where a State has no rights and those where a State does enjoy
rights. We should now note that the default baseline under UNCLOS is the
normal baseline. According to Article 5 of UNCLOS, a normal baseline is drawn
at the low-water line, as stated in official charts. Perhaps the easiest way to
think of a normal baseline is as an “outline” of a State’s coast. Waters on the
landward side of a baseline are considered a State's internal waters, treated
much in the way that land would be treated. However, in some situations, it is
either impractical or uneconomical to draw a normal baseline. In such cases,
straight baselines are used in lieu of normal baselines.
Normally, a sea baseline follows the low-water line of a coastal state Article 5 of
UNCLOS 1982.
Literally, it is the method of measuring maritime zones. The coastal state itself
has to determine the baseline, which must then be shown on charts or defined
by adequate geographical coordinates and given adequate publicity (article 16).
It involves the following methods
 Normal baseline
Article 5 of UNCLOS provides; Except where otherwise provided in
this Convention, the normal baseline for measuring the breadth
(width) of the territorial sea is the low-water line along the coast
as marked on large-scale charts officially recognised by the coastal
State.
 Reefs
Article 6 of UNCLOS provides; In the case of islands situated on
atolls or of islands having fringing reefs, the baseline for measuring
the breadth of the territorial sea is the seaward low-water line of
the reef, as shown by the appropriate symbol on charts officially
recognised by the coastal State.
 Straight baseline
Are normally applied in rough costs which are either curved or in
the case or an inland. Under Article 4(1), straight baselines may be
used in localities where the coastline is deeply indented and cut into,
or if there is a fringe of islands along its coast in its immediate
vicinity.
Conditions in the application of straight baselines:
1. Article 4(2) maintains that “straight baselines must not depart
to any appreciable extent from the general direction of the
coast, and the sea areas lying within the lines must be
sufficiently linked to the land domain to be subject to the
regime of internal waters.”
2. Article 4(5) indicates that “State may not draw straight
baselines in such a way as to cut off from the high seas the
territorial sea of another State.”
3. Article 4(6) states that “State utilising a straight baseline
system must clearly indicate the lines on charts to which ‘due
publicity’ must be given.” And finally,
4. Article 4(4) tells us that “Account may be taken of economic
interest peculiar to the region concerned, the reality and
importance of which are clearly evidenced by a long usage.”
5. Article 7(1) states that straight baselines should be used when
normal baselines are impractical. This would in the case of
coastal States with deeply indented coastlines (Norway and
Chile, for example) or fringing islands that mask the coastline
(Italy, Greece, Northern Canada).

There is no specified length for straight baselines (although the


longest straight baseline drawn by Norway was 44 nautical miles
in length.

The first guidelines for drawing straight baselines arose out of one
of the most famous (and contentious) cases in international law:
the 1951 Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries Case (UK V NORWAY). In this
case, the United Kingdom and Norway contested access to
fisheries off the Norwegian coast. Norway had attempted to claim
ocean areas through some creative cartography: by drawing
“straight baselines” from points along its rugged coastline and
asserting that the enclosed areas in between the deep fjords were
exclusive Norwegian fisheries. The U.K. argued against this by
maintaining that baselines should follow the outline of the coast,
using the trace parallel or course tangent methods of drawing
baselines. The ICJ eventually ruled in favour of Norway’s method
of drawing straight baselines.

 Archipelagic baselines.
The method of delimiting the territorial sea is that of joining the
outermost points of the outermost inland and drying reefs. For
purpose of facilitating navigation, the archipelago must
designate/indicate sea lanes to be followed by ships and other
marine vessels exercising the right of innocent passage.
UNCLOS contains special rules for drawing baselines around
archipelagoes. Article 46(b) provides a rather exhaustive definition
of an archipelago as “a group of islands, including parts of islands,
interconnecting waters and other natural features which are so
closely interrelated that such islands, waters and other natural
features from an intrinsic geographical, economic and political entity,
or which historically have been regarded as such.” Article 46(a)
defines an archipelagic state as a “state consisting wholly of one
or more archipelagoes and may include other islands.” Examples
of archipelagic states would include Indonesia, The Philippines,
and Japan.
Although given separate treatment in UNCLOS, the guidelines for
drawing archipelagic baselines are similar to those for drawing
straight baselines. Generally, archipelagic states may, according to
Article 47(1), “draw straight archipelagic baselines joining the
outermost points of the outermost islands.” Article 47(2) provides
that archipelagic baselines may not exceed 100 nautical miles in
length. Article 47(1) furthermore states that archipelagic baselines
must be drawn such that the ratio in archipelagic states of water
area to the land area must fall in between 1 to 1 and 9 to 1.
There are limits to the drawing of archipelagic baselines, however.
Article 47(3) states that the archipelagic baselines shall not depart
to any appreciable extent from the general configuration of the
archipelago. Article 47(4) indicates that archipelagic baselines
shall not be drawn to and from low-tide elevations.
 Equidistance.
This is the method used to delimit the territorial seas of two
adjacent and opposite states. The method begins normally with
negotiations and agreement of the two states on delimitation in
particular and specific circumstances the two states may resort to
historical titles however in absence of an agreement on
delimitations or absence of agreement on the application of
historical titles then the solution is to resort to the application of
the equidistance principle.
 Internal waters- Covers all water and waterways on the landward side of the
baseline. The coastal state is free to set laws, regulate use, and use any resource.
Foreign vessels have no right of passage within internal waters.4
It includes waterways such as rivers and canals, and sometimes the water within
small bays. In inland waters, the sovereignty of the state is equal to that which it
exercises on the mainland. The coastal state is free to make laws relating to its
internal waters, regulate any use, and use any resource. In the absence of

4
Article 8
agreements to the contrary, foreign vessels have no right of passage within
internal waters, and this lack of right to innocent passage is the key difference
between internal waters and territorial waters. The "archipelagic waters" within
the outermost islands of archipelagic states are treated as internal waters with
the exception that innocent passage must be allowed, although the archipelagic
state may designate certain sea lanes in these waters.
When a foreign vessel is authorised to enter inland waters, it is subject to the
laws of the coastal State, with one exception: the crew of the ship is subject to
the law of the flag State. This extends to labour conditions as well as to crimes
committed on board the ship, even if docked at a port. Offences committed in
the harbour and the crimes committed there by the crew of a foreign vessel
always fall under the jurisdiction of the coastal State. The coastal State can
intervene in ship affairs when the master of the vessel requires the intervention
of the local authorities, when there is a danger to the peace and security of the
coastal State, or to enforce customs rules.
 TERRITORIAL SEA
It’s simply Waters adjacent to a state's coast and subject to its sovereignty. that
area of the sea immediately adjacent to the shores of a state and subject to the
territorial jurisdiction of that state. As defined by the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most
12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) from the baseline (usually the mean low-water
mark) of a coastal state. The territorial sea is regarded as the sovereign territory
of the state, although foreign ships (civilian) are allowed innocent passage
through it or transit passage for straits; this sovereignty also extends to the
airspace over and seabed below.
The term "territorial waters" is also sometimes used informally to refer to any
area of water over which a state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the
contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and potentially the continental
shelf.

Sum up
According to convention

Article 3

Breadth of the territorial sea

Every State has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not
exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from baselines determined in accordance with
this Convention.

Article 4
Outer limit of the territorial sea

The outer limit of the territorial sea is the line every point of which is at a distance from
the nearest point of the baseline equal to the breadth of the territorial sea.

IN SUMMARY

The territorial sea is that area of water adjacent to the coast which the coastal state is
permitted by international law to exercise sovereign competency for purpose of 3
things: -

1. Jurisdiction

2. Control

3. Exploitation

Sovereignty territory – seabed, water column, airspace

Article 2 (3) says

The sovereignty over the territorial sea is exercised subject to this Convention and to
other rules of international law.

• Breadth – up to 12 nautical miles

•Exception to other states is in the right of Innocent Passage but subject to certain
conditions. Passage is characterized as innocent passage, if it is not prejudicial to the
interest of the coastal state. Innocent passage is characterized with moving purposely.

What is Innocent Passage?


Right of a foreign ship to pass through the territorial waters of a coastal state so long
as the passage does not interfere with or prejudices the state's good order, peace, and
security.

Article 19

Meaning of innocent passage

1. Passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or


security of the coastal State. Such passage shall take place in conformity with
this Convention and with other rules of international law.

In summary:

Innocent Passage

• Continuous and expeditious transit, through territorial waters or internal waters, en-
route to or from the high seas

• Article 19(1): “Passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good
order, or security of the coastal State”

• Non-innocent passage may be prevented

• Submarines must transit on the surface and show their flag (Article 20)

• No right of overflight

• May be temporarily suspended

• Emerging issues:

Hazardous vessels? Warships?

– Right of innocent passage – Prior notification/permission

 CONTIGUOUS ZONE
The contiguous zone is a band of water extending from the outer edge of the territorial
sea to up to 24 nautical miles (44.4 km; 27.6 mi) from the baseline.

A state can exert limited control for the purpose of preventing or punishing
"infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations
within its territory or territorial sea".

This will typically be 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) wide, but could be more (if a state
has chosen to claim a territorial sea of less than 12 nautical miles), or less, if it would
otherwise overlap another state's contiguous zone. However, unlike the territorial sea,
there is no standard rule for resolving such conflicts and the states in question must
negotiate their own compromise.

In Summary
Contiguous Zone

• 12 - 24 nm

 Overlays EEZ
 Foreign aircraft have overflight rights
 Foreign vessels have full navigational, fishing and marine scientific research
rights (so long as they are not infringing customs, fiscal, immigration and
sanitation laws and assuming no EEZ declared for the latter rights)
 Extends territorial sea enforcement

Article 33:

(a) “prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and
regulations within its territory or territorial sea.

 Exclusive economic zone

An area of coastal water and seabed within a certain distance of a country's coastline,
to which the country claims exclusive rights for fishing, drilling, and other economic
activities.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends not more than 200 nautical miles from the
territorial sea baseline and is adjacent to the 12 nautical mile territorial sea.

Beyond its territorial waters, every coastal country may establish an exclusive
economic zone (EEZ) extending 200 nautical miles (370 km) from shore (baseline).
Within the EEZ the coastal state has the right to exploit and regulate fisheries, construct
artificial islands and installations, use the zone for other economic purposes (e.g., the
generation of energy from waves), and regulate scientific research by foreign vessels.
Otherwise, foreign vessels (and aircraft) are entitled to move freely through (and over)
the zone.

Consider the following image:

Within the EEZ, the costal state has:

 Sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, conserving and


managing natural resources, whether living and nonliving, of the seabed and
subsoil and the superjacent waters and with regard to other activities for the
economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of
energy from the water, currents and winds;

 Jurisdiction as provided for in international and domestic laws with regard to


the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations, and structures,
marine scientific research, and the protection and preservation of the marine
environment; and

 Other rights and duties provided for under international and domestic laws.
 Continental shelf

article 76

Definition of the continental shelf

The continental shelf of a coastal State comprises the seabed and subsoil of the
submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural
prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a
distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the
territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of the continental margin does not
extend up to that distance.

The continental shelf is an underwater landmass which extends from a continent,


resulting in an area of relatively shallow water known as a shelf sea.
Illustration
Article 77
Rights of the coastal State over the continental shelf
1. The coastal State exercises over the continental shelf sovereign rights for the
purpose of exploring it and exploiting its natural resources.
2. The rights referred to in paragraph 1 are exclusive in the sense that if the coastal
State does not explore the continental shelf or exploit its natural resources, no one
may undertake these activities without the express consent of the coastal State.
3. The rights of the coastal State over the continental shelf do not depend on
occupation, effective or notional, or on any express proclamation.
Article 79
Submarine cables and pipelines on the continental shelf
1. All States are entitled to lay submarine cables and pipelines on the continental shelf,
in accordance with the provisions of this article.
2. Subject to its right to take reasonable measures for the exploration of the
continental shelf, the exploitation of its natural resources and the prevention,
reduction and control of pollution from pipelines, the coastal State may not impede
the laying or maintenance of such cables or pipelines.

 Landlocked States

article 124 (1(a) of the Convention defines the term land-locked State as ‘a State
which has no sea-coast’. Putting it simply, land-locked state means a state which
has no sea-coast; instead, it depends on its Neighbouring state (s) to have
access to the sea. In other words, land-locked state relays on transit state which
is ‘a state with or without a seacoast, situated between a land-locked state and
the sea, through whose territory traffic in transit passes (Article 124 (1, b) of the
Convention). Thus, land-locked states are those states which get access to the
sea through the territory of their Neighbouring states known as transit states.
OR
Landlocked states are sates that are either entirely or almost entirely
surrounded by land. They have no coastline or border any sea. There are about
48 landlocked states, includes Afghanistan, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi,
Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali etc.

 Geographically disadvantaged States


Article 70
For the purposes of this Part, "geographically disadvantaged States" means
coastal States, including States bordering enclosed or semi-enclosed seas,
whose geographical situation makes them dependent upon the exploitation of
the living resources of the exclusive economic zones of other States in the sub
region or region for adequate supplies of fish for the nutritional purposes of
their populations or parts thereof, and coastal States which can claim no
exclusive economic zones of their own.
Geographically disadvantaged States shall have the right to participate, on an
equitable basis, in the exploitation of an appropriate part of the surplus of the
living resources of the exclusive economic zones of coastal States of the same
sub region or region, taking into account the relevant economic and
geographical circumstances of all the States concerned and in conformity with
the provisions of this article and of articles 61 and 62.
Historical Background

Since humanity first set forth upon the seas, the issue of sovereign control over the oceans has
been an ongoing concern. Prior to the 20th century, the oceans had been subject to the freedom
of the seas doctrine. This principle, adopted in the 17th century, limited national rights and
jurisdiction over a narrow band of water along a nations coast, the rest of the sea being free to all
and belonging to none. Nearly a century later, the "cannon-shot" rule became the basis for
determining how much of the adjacent oceans were under the jurisdiction of a nation. The
cannon-shot rule set forth that a nation controlled a territorial sea as far as a projectile could be
fired from a cannon based on shore. In the 18th century this range was approximate three
nautical miles. As time progressed, three miles became the widely accepted range for the
territorial sea.[1]
Due to the slow pace of technological developments prior to the Industrial Revolution, these
simple rules provided effective governance of the world's oceans. With the technological
developments of the mid-19th and early-20th centuries, however, not only did ships become
more powerful, but technology allowed humanity to exploit ocean resources that had never
before been envisioned. Fishermen, once limited to areas near their own coasts, were now
equipped with vessels that could allow them to stay at sea for months at a time and capture fish
harvests that were far from their native waters. Virtually unrestrained, fleets from around the
world traveled to areas rich in fish-stocks. The lack of restraint on the part of these fishermen
resulted in fish stocks around the world being depleted without regard to the stability of their
numbers.[2]
Evolving technology also allowed for the exploitation of previously inaccessible off-shore
resources, most notably oil (but also diamonds, gravel, and precious metals). To illustrate the
rapidity of these developments, in 1947 off-shore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was still
less than 1 million tons. By 1954, production had grown close to 400 million tons.[3] As a matter
of perspective, just in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States alone currently produces 218,192
tons daily, for a total of 79.6 million tons annually, reflecting a steadily decreasing trend that
began in the 1970's.[4]

In order to protect local resources, be they biological or mineral, nations began expanding their
claims of sovereignty beyond the traditional 3 mile limit. The first nation to challenge the long-
standing freedom of the seas doctrine was the United States. On September 28, 1945, President
Harry S. Truman signed what has become commonly known as the Truman Proclamation. The
proclamation set a claim of sovereignty by the United States to the outer continental shelf (OCS)
and the resources therein as well as establishing the right of the U.S. to establish conservations
zones "in areas of the high seas contiguous to the coasts of the United States."[5] While
recognizing some limited sovereignty over an expanded region of the sea, the proclamation was
careful to stipulate that the new US policy did not affect "the right [of] free and unimpeded
navigation."[6]
After the United States expanded its claim, it was not long before other nations followed suit. By
1950,Argentina was actively claiming its continental shelf as well as the water column above
it, Ecuador, Chile, andPeru were asserting rights over a 200-mile zone in order to protect its
biological resources from foreign fleets, and a spate of Arab and Eastern European nations were
laying claim to a 12-mile territorial sea. There was a growing understanding, however, that such
a fractured regime could not continue.[7]

UNCLOS I

Recognizing the conflicts that were resulting from the current regime, the General Assembly
adopted resolution 1105 (XI), which called for the convening of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea in Geneva in 1858. Eighty-six nations participated (now commonly
referred to as UNCLOS I). The meeting produced four separate conventions [8]: 1) the
Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone (established sovereignty rights and
rights of passage through the territorial sea, established the Contiguous Zone to extend 12
nautical miles from the baselines, but failed to set standards of limits on the territorial sea);[9] 2)
the Convention on the High Seas (established access for landlocked nations, expounded on the
concept of "flag state," outlawed the transport of slaves, covered piracy, established safety and
rescue protocols, established a national duty to prevent pollution, and established rights to laying
of undersea cables and pipelines);[10] 3) the Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the
Living Resources of the High Seas (established the right of coastal nations to protect living
ocean resources, required nations whose fleets leave their territorial sea to establish conservation
measures, and established measures for dispute resolution);[11]4) and the Convention on the
Continental Shelf (established the regime governing the superjacent waters and airspace, the
laying and maintenance of submarine cables or pipelines, the regime governing navigation,
fishing, scientific research and the coastal nation's competence in these areas, delimitation, and
tunneling).[12] The Convention also produced an Optional Protocol of Signature Concerning the
Compulsory Settlement of Disputes (provides for the compulsory jurisdiction of the International
Court of Justice, or for submission of the dispute to arbitration or conciliation).[13] While
UNCLOS I saw a significant development in the international legal regime governing the oceans,
there were still many issues left unsettled.

UNCLOS II

In an attempt to deal with the issues that remained unresolved after UNCLOS I, the General
Assembly called for a second United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (now commonly
referred to as UNCLOS II). The parties met for just over a month in early 1960 with the
objective of settling the question on the breadth of the territorial seas and fishery limits. While
the conference adopted two resolutions, the parties were unable to come to consensus on the
issues at hand.[14]

UNCLOS III

Frustrated by the continuing inconsistency in the ocean governance regime, Malta's ambassador
to the United Nations, Arvid Pardo, called upon the General Assembly to take action and called
for "an effective international regime over the seabed and the ocean floor," that clearly defined
national jurisdiction.[15] One month later, the General Assembly adopted resolution 2467 A
(XXIII) and resolution 2750 C (XXV), which created the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the
Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction and called for the
convening of a third Law of the Sea meeting to be held in 1973.[16]The deliberations lasted for
nine years, saw the participation of 160 nations, and concluded in 1982 with the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is now commonly referred to as simply "UNCLOS" or
the Law of the Sea Treaty.[17] UNCLOS is one of the largest, and likely one of the most
important, legal agreements in history. The treaty contains 320 articles and 9 annexes. It
synthesizes and builds upon the agreements that were developed at the first conference (see
UNCLOS I above). The agreement addresses a myriad of issues including navigational rights of
ships and aircraft, limits on the extension of national sovereignty over the oceans, environmental
protection of the oceans, conservation of living resources and mining rights.
While UNCLOS was first signed in December of 1982, the agreement did not come into force
until November of 1994, a period of nearly 12 years.[18] UNCLOS required 60 signatures for
ratification and could only enter into force one year after the final nation had ratified or acceded
to the treaty.[19] The main reason many nations took so long to sign the treaty is because of
Article 309, which prohibits nations from taking out reservations to any part of a treaty. A
reservation is a statement made by a nation when accepting a treaty, whereby it excludes or
modifies the legal effect of certain provisions of a treaty as those terms apply to the nation
accepting the treaty.[20] The inability of a nation to take out reservations to particular terms of
the treaty caused many nations to hesitate. UNCLOS represented a significant number of
compromises and some of the terms of the agreement did not sit well with various nations.
However, in order to establish a unified doctrine of the law of the sea, UNCLOS necessarily had
to prevent reservations or risk maintaining a fractured regime.
Divisions of Ocean Areas
One of the most powerful features of UNCLOS is that it settled the question of the extent of
national sovereignty over the oceans and seabed. Parts II, V, VI, and VII establish the various
regions of the oceans, who has sovereignty over each, and to what degree. The following
sections explain both how the maritime regions are divided and the sovereign powers that nations
may exercise over each region.
Baselines

Diagram of the various regions of the ocean over which a State may exercise sovereignty.

The baseline is the boundary from which a nation may begin measurements to determine the
portion of the adjacent oceans or continental shelf over which it may exercise sovereignty.
Except in some special cases, the baseline is the low-water line along the coast.[21] Detailed
explanations of how baselines are determined are provided in Articles 5-7 and 9-14. Special rules
have been established for determining the baselines of archipelagic nations (nations that consist
of a number of small islands such as the Philippines) and can be found in Article 47.
Internal Waters
Internal waters are those that are contained on the landward side of the baseline.[22] These
waters fall under the exclusive sovereignty of the nation in which they are contained.

Territorial Sea

A state's territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) from its baseline. If
this would overlap with another state's territorial sea, the border is taken as the median point
between the states' baselines, unless the states in question agree otherwise. A state can also
choose to claim a smaller territorial sea.
Conflicts still occur whenever a coastal nation claims an entire gulf as its territorial waters while
other nations only recognize the more restrictive definitions of the UN convention. Two recent
conflicts occurred in the Gulf of Sidra where Libya has claimed the entire gulf as its territorial
waters and the U.S. has twice enforced freedom of navigation rights, in the 1981 and 1989 Gulf
of Sidra incidents.

Article 3 of UNCLOS declares that a nation may establish a territorial sea that extends up to 12
nautical miles from the baselines. Within the territorial sea, a nation has exclusive sovereignty
over the water, seabed, and airspace.[23] The treaty establishes that all nations have the right of
innocent passage through the territorial sea of another nation and that, outside certain conditions,
the nation laying claim to the territorial sea cannot hamper innocent passage of a foreign
vessel.[24] UNCLOS adopted the basic concepts of the territorial sea and the right of innocent
passage that had been codified in the Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone,
but the new treaty went a step further by establishing the limits of a nation's territorial sea.
By the late 1960's many nations recognized a 12-mile limit to the territorial sea. At the start of
the UNCLOS, only twenty-five nations maintained the traditional claim of 3 nautical miles.
Sixty-six nations were claiming 12 nautical miles, fifteen nations claimed between 4 and 10
nautical miles, and eight nations were claiming an astounding 200 nautical miles. Smaller
nations, including those without large navies or merchant fleets, favored a larger territorial sea in
order to protect their coastal waters from infringements by more powerful nations. The world's
major naval and maritime powers, however, pressed for the 3-mile rule because the 12-mile rule
would have placed over 100 straits used for international navigation under the exclusive
sovereignty of other nations. Some of these included the Strait of Gibraltar (the only open access
to the Mediterranean), the Strait of Hormuz (the only passage to the oil-producing Persian Gulf
and Gulf of Oman nations), and the Strait of Malacca (the main route connecting the Pacific and
Indian Oceans).[25]
Remembering that the Cold War was still ongoing during the Convention, smaller nations were
particularly concerned about the possibility of threats to their national security posed by warships
of foreign nations or even the possibility of becoming embroiled in the conflicts of foreign
powers. In an attempted compromise, the small nations offered the larger maritime powers the
right of innocent passage, however the maritime powers were not satisfied with this offer. The
problem, in the view of the great powers, was that restrictions to innocent passage would prohibit
covert movements of vessels (such as submarines) and did not guarantee overflight rights,
thereby creating a security risk.[26]
In the end, the parties came together to form a compromise known as "transit passage." Applied
specifically to straits that would otherwise fall within the territorial sea of a nation, transit
passage applies to straits used for international navigation between one part of the high seas to
another and allows for "navigation and overflight solely for the purpose of continuous and
expeditious transit of [a] strait...."[27] In all other ways aside transit passage, the waters of a
strait still remain the territorial sea of the adjacent nation.[28]

Contiguous Zone

The Contiguous Zone is a region of the seas measured from the baseline to a distance of 24
nautical miles. Within this region, a nation may exercise the control necessary to prevent the
infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations within its
territory or territorial sea, and punish infringement of those laws and regulations committed
within its territory or territorial sea.[29]

By means of a formal proclamation made public to the international community, a coastal state
may establish a zone contiguous to the territorial sea and extending a maximum of twenty-four
nautical miles from the baseline.1 Consequently, the breadth of the contiguous zone itself
depends on the distance proclaimed and on the breadth of the territorial sea. If the territorial sea
of the coastal state has the maximum breadth of twelve nautical miles 2, then the contiguous zone
can have a maximum breadth of only twelve nautical miles.

The contiguous zone enjoys independent legal status only as long as the coastal state has not
proclaimed an exclusive economic zone3 exceeding the outer limits of the contiguous zone. If an
exclusive economic zone is established, it begins beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea4, with
the resultant effect that the contiguous zone becomes a part of the exclusive economic zone, and
all provisions which apply to the latter also apply completely and fully (as there are no
exceptions) in the contiguous zone. The principle of freedom of navigation applies in this zone as

1
Art. 33, Para. 2; Art. 5-14
2
Art. 3
3
Art. 57
4
Art. 55
well as elsewhere5 outside the territorial sea, but other states are to have due regard for the rights
of the coastal state in the exclusive economic zone and to comply with its laws and regulations6.

The rights derived from this provision are of two types: “prevention”7 and "extended power”8.
Rights of “prevention” mean that the coastal state exercises police force limited to "control"
necessary to prevent infringements of customs, fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws in the
territorial sea or territory of the coastal state, including boarding and searching and even
prohibiting the foreign vessel from entering the territorial sea. If there is no such infringement,
the coastal state has no further rights. "Extended power" to apply national criminal law goes into
effect if there has been an infringement of the laws listed above within the territory or territorial
sea of the coastal state. In many instances of such infringements, coastal states would also be
able to exercise the right of hot pursuit.9 There seems to be hardly any need for the concept of a
contiguous zone, particularly now that the territorial sea has been extended from three to twelve
nautical miles.

Finally, it is worthy of mention that the Convention unexpectedly and rather curiously grants'
special status to the contiguous zone in one other area: in order to control traffic in historical and
archaeological objects, the coastal state may presume that the removal of any such objects from
the contiguous zone without the state's approval would violate the laws mentioned in Article 33,
and the state may act accordingly.10 The law of salvage and other international rules and
agreements remain unaffected11.

Hot pursuit
The international law principle of hot pursuit is analogous to the common law principle, but was
probably conceived independently.[1]:92 It began to coalesce into a general custom of
international relations during the early years of the 20th century, although the general principle
had been advanced before in national legislation such as the British Hovering Acts. The
participating states at theLeague of Nations Codification Conference of 1930 broadly agreed on
the validity of the right of hot pursuit, but the proposed convention on territorial waters in which
it was included was never ratified. It was finally codified as Article 23 of the Geneva Convention
on the High Seas in 1958.[4]:39–40

5
Art. 58, 87
6
Art. 58, Para. 3
7
Art. 33, Subpara. 1 (a)
8
Art. 33, Subpara. 1 (b)
9
Art. 111
10
Art. 303, Para. 2
11
Art. 303, Para. 3-4
_________________________________________

Further Readings: - Contiguous Zone, Page 112

- Archaeological and Historical Objects, Page 124


The Geneva Convention on the High Seas was eventually folded into the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea. Article 111 of that treaty grants a coastal state the right to
pursue and arrest ships escaping to international waters, as long as:[5]

1. The pursuers are competent authorities of the state;


2. They have good reason to believe that the pursued ship has violated the state's laws or
regulations;
3. The pursuit begins while the pursuing ship is in the State's internal waters or territorial
waters; and
4. The pursuit is continuous.
If the foreign ship is within a contiguous zone, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the
Continental Shelf, and the Safety Zones in the EEZ or the Continental Shelf then the pursuit may
only be undertaken if there has been a violation of the rules and regulations (customs, fiscal,
immigration or sanitary laws and regulations of the coastal state) as applicable in the respective
regimes (areas, zones).
The right of hot pursuit ceases as soon as the ship pursued enters the territorial sea of its own
State or of a third State.
Where a coastal state, stopping or arresting a foreign ship outside the territorial sea on the basis
of its right of hot pursuit, fails to justify the exercise, it shall be liable to compensate the ship for
any loss or damage cause to it due to the exercise of this right.
This right is particularly relevant to fisheries management, maritime pollution laws, and the
seaborne illegal drug trade.[5]
In addition, some have proposed translating the maritime right of hot pursuit into a comparable
right to pursue criminals over land borders. Although it does not form a settled tenet of
international law, the principle has been invoked by the United States regarding Taliban militants
crossing into Pakistan, by Turkey regarding attacks on Kurdistan Workers Party bases in
northern Iraq, and by Colombia regarding a raid on a Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia camp in Ecuadorean territory which led to the 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis.[6]

Exclusive Economic Zone

The Exclusive Economic Zone or "EEZ" is a region that stretches a distance of no more than 200
nautical miles from a nation's baselines.[30] Generally, the rules regarding the High Seas, set
forth in Articles 88 to 115, apply to the EEZ.[31] Within its EEZ, a nation may explore at exploit
the natural resources (both living and inanimate) found both in the water and on the seabed, may
utilize the natural resources of the area for the production of energy (including wind and
wave/current), may establish artificial islands, conduct marine scientific research, pass laws for
the preservation and protection of the marine environment, and regulate fishing.[32]
One of the primary purposes behind establishing the EEZ was to clarify the rights of individual
nations to control the fish harvests off their shores. The 200-mile limit established by UNCLOS
is not an arbitrary number. It is derived from the fact that the most lucrative fishing grounds lie
within 200 nautical miles from the coast as this is where the richest phytoplankton (the basic
food of fish) pastures lie.[33]
The creation of the EEZ gave coastal nations jurisdiction of approximately 38 million square
nautical miles of ocean space. The world's EEZs are estimated to contain about 87% of all of the
known and estimated hydrocarbon reserves as well as almost all offshore mineral resources. In
addition, the EEZs contain almost 99% of the world's fisheries, which allows nations to work to
conserve the oceans vital and limited living resources.[34]
Continental Shelf

Cross sectional map of a continental shelf.

Unlike the other boundaries that have been thus far discussed, the continental shelf is a real,
naturally-occurring geological formation. It is a gently sloping undersea plain between the
above-water portion of a landmass and the deep ocean. The continental shelf extends to what is
known as the continental slope, a point at which the land descends further and marks the
beginning of the ocean itself. It is host to most of the world's oceanic plant and animal life and
plays a vital role in energy production, from offshore oil and gas reserves to renewable energy
resources.[35]
When UNCLOS refers to the continental shelf, however, it is using "continental shelf" as a legal
term.[36]While the EEZ captures a lot of the continental shelf for many countries, it does not
capture all of it. As such, UNCLOS includes provisions for nations to lay claim to a continental
shelf that exceeds 200 nautical miles from the baseline by establishing the foot of the continental
slope as set forth in Article 76, paragraphs 4-7. These provisions allow for an extension of an
additional 150 nautical miles from the baseline or 100 miles from the 2,500 meter
depth.[37] Nations exercise over the shelf the sovereign right to explore and exploit the non-
living natural resources of the continental shelf as well as the living organisms that live on the
seabed itself.[38] The water above the portion of the continental shelf that is not contained within
the EEZ remains part of the high seas (as does the airspace above that area).[39] Nations wishing
to request an extension of sovereignty over an extended portion of their naturally occurring
continental shelf must do so within 10 years of UNCLOS coming into force for that particular
nation.[40]
The extension of sovereignty to the extended continental shelf comes with a price. A nation that
exploits resources on the continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical mile mark is allowed five
years in which to develop and exploit the resources of the shelf without charge. Starting on the
sixth year, a nation has to pay 1 percent of the value of the resources produced from the site. The
rate of payments increase by 1 percent for each year until the twelfth year and is capped at 7
percent thereafter. Developing nations are exempted from this provision.[41] Revenues
generated from these operations are deposited with the International Seabed Authority and
equally distributed among national parties to UNCLOS.[42]

High Seas

Map illustrating the high seas. All areas in blue are considered part of the high seas and are not
subject to national appropriation.
Waters beyond a nation's EEZ are considered to be the high seas.[43] The high seas are still
governed the "freedom of the seas" concept, albeit a modified version. Just as with the classical
version, no nation my lay claim to any portion of the high seas.[44] Per the terms of the treaty,
"[t]he high seas are open to all States, whether coastal or land-locked."[45] On the high seas,
nations are permitted freedom of navigation and overflight, freedom to lay submarine cables and
pipelines, freedom to construct artificial islands, freedom of fishing, and freedom of scientific
research.[46] Other provisions regarding the high seas include a prohibition on the transport of
slaves, piracy, illegal drug trafficking, and the suppression of unauthorized radio or television
broadcasting.[47]

The Area
The "Area" is the seabed and ocean floor that is beyond the limits of national
jurisdiction.[48] This is the portion of the seabed that is beyond the EEZ or the recognized
continental shelf of a country. It would be inaccurate to say that the Area is the seabed
underneath the high seas, since the high seas can overlap portions of continental shelf that are
subject to national sovereignty. The Area is particularly unique in that UNCLOS designates it
and the resources it contains as "the common heritage of mankind."[49] No nation is allowed to
lay claim to any part of the Area or its resources. Regarding the resources, "[a]ll rights in the
resources of the Area are vested in mankind as a whole...."[50] As a result, companies that wish
to exploit the mineral resources of the Area will have to enter into a profit sharing agreement in
which the profits derived from mineral resources captured in the Area will be shared with
developing nations.

Agencies Created by UNCLOS

In order to administer UNCLOS, the treaty created four bodies to handle specific issues. The
following sections discuss the mission of each body and its founding authority.

Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf was created to implement Article 76 of
the treaty, which is the article which allows for a nation to extend sovereignty over a portion of
the continental shelf beyond the limits of the EEZ.[51] The Commission is comprised of 21
members who are specialists in the fields of geology, geophysics, or hydrography and are elected
by the Nations Parties to the Convention. Members of the Commission are charged with
evaluating data submitted by coastal nation requesting an extension of sovereignty over an
extended portion of their naturally occurring continental shelf.[52] The Commission was
established and derives its authority from Annex II of the Convention.
International Seabed Authority

(Logo for the International Seabed Authority, 'the Authority')

The International Seabed Authority is the organization that is responsible for the governance of
the Area.[53] Article 156 of the Convention mandates the creation of the Seabed Authority,
which is commonly referred to as "the Authority" throughout most of the treaty.[54] All nations
that have agreed to be bound by UNCLOS are automatically members of the Authority.[55]The
Authority is comprised of three bodies: the Assembly, the Council, and the Secretariat.[56]

The Assembly
The Assembly acts as a legislative organ in which each member nation has one
representative.[57] Of the many powers and responsibilities entrusted to the Assembly, one of
the most important is the power to decide how revenues derived from deep seabed mining will be
distributed. Other powers include the power to set policy regarding activities in the Area and
oversight of its management.[58]

The Council
The Council is a body comprised of 36 persons who represent various members of the Authority
itself (the nations bound by the treaty). Members of the Council are elected by the Assembly and
serve for a term of four years.[59] The Council acts as the executive branch of the Authority and
has the power of establishing the specific policies to be pursued by the Authority.[60] Other
powers of the Council include establishing subsidiary agencies (as needed) to carry out the
functions of the Council, approve or reject work plans related to the Area, oversee the collection
of payments made to the Authority, and institute proceedings against a member nation in the
Seabed Disputes Chamber (see International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea below).[61]
Within the Council there are two Commissions: the Economic Planning Commission and the
Legal and Technical Commission. Each Commission is comprised of members elected by the
Council from a list of candidates nominated by the nations that are bound by UNCLOS.
Members of either Commission serve for a term of five years and must have no personal
financial connections related to exploration or exploitation of resources within the Area.[62]
Members of the Economic Planning Commission are required to have qualifications in the areas
of mining, management of mineral resources, international trade, or international economics and
it is required that at least two members of the Commission are from developing nations whose
mineral exports be the same as those being mined from the seabed.[63] The primary function of
the Economic Planning Commission is to expound upon the relationship between the minerals
being mined, the effect mining has on global prices for the mineral in question, and the effect
changes in price may have on developing nations.[64]
Members of the Legal and Technical Commission are required to have qualifications in the areas
of exploration, exploitation, and processing of mineral resources, oceanology, protection of the
marine environment, or either economic or legal matters relating to the ocean mining
industry.[65] It is the responsibility of the Commission to review written plans for work
activities to be conducted in the Area, prepare assessments of the environmental implications of
activities in the Area, make recommendations to the Council regarding environmental protection
of the Area, and to calculate the production ceiling and issue production authorization on behalf
of the Authority.[66]

The Secretariat
The Secretariat of the Authority is comprised of the Secretary-General and his or her staff. The
Secretary General is elected for a term of four years. Nominations for Secretary-General are
made by the Council and voted on by the Assembly. The Secretary-General serves as the chief
administrative officer of the Authority and is required to make an annual report to the Assembly
on the work of the Authority.[67]
The Enterprise
Article 170 calls for the formation of an agency called "the Enterprise." The purpose of the
Enterprise is to coordinate the exploration and exploitation of resources in the area. Annex IV of
the treaty details the composition and governance of the Enterprise, however, since deep seabed
mining has yet to start, the Enterprise has never been called into action.

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

Annex VI of UNCLOS establishes the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The
Tribunal is comprised of 21 members, no two of which may be from the same member
nation.[68] Members of the Tribunal serve for a period of nine years, after which they are
eligible for reelection to the Tribunal.[69] The Tribunal has formed a number of Chambers
including the Chamber of Summary Procedure, the Chamber for Fisheries Disputed, the
Chamber for Marine Environment Disputes, and the Chamber for Maritime Delimitation
Disputes.[70] The Tribunal is also the home of the Seabed Disputes Chamber, which is
responsible for adjudicating disputes pursuant to Part XI, Section 5 of UNCLOS, which governs
settlements of disputes that arise from deep seabed activities.[71]
Environmental Considerations
Although UNCLOS is not an environmental treaty, it frequently addresses environmental
concerns. In addition to having an entire section dedicated to the protection and preservation of
the marine environment (Part XII), the treaty also contains numerous references to
environmental duties and obligations throughout its many articles. The scattered placement of all
of the environmental references makes it difficult at times to put together a comprehensive
understanding of the duties of member nations and the powers they are granted to enforce the
various provisions.

Section 1 of Part XII of UNCLOS sets the tone for a number of the environmental provisions
laid out in the treaty. Part XII opens with Article 192: "States have an obligation to protect and
preserve the marine environment." This is immediately followed by Article 193: "States have the
sovereign right to exploit their natural resources pursuant to their environmental policies,"
[emphasis added]. Nations are then subsequently charged with creating national law to address
various pollution issues and are supposed to employ "the best practicable means at their disposal
and in accordance with their capabilities."[72] Article 204 requires states to observe and evaluate
the risks posed by pollution to the marine environment. In particular, nations are required to
monitor the effects of any activities that they permit or actually engage in.[73]
The following sections examine UNCLOS on various topical issues related to the environment in
an attempt to create a comprehensive narrative.
Pollution Prevention (Generally)
Article 195 requires nations to "prevent, reduce and control pollution in the marine
environment." Article 195 also prohibits nations from transferring pollution to another nation,
either directly or indirectly, or from turning one type of pollution into another. The prohibition
on changing one pollutant into another may have impacts on future carbon mitigation schemes
such as water-column carbon sequestration or sub-seabed sequestration. For more information,
see Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter
(1972) and the 1996 Protocol.

Part XII of UNCLOS also encourages nations to participate in regional agreements related to the
environment and establishes duties of nations to their regional counterparts (see Articles 197-
201). Some of the duties that nations owe to other regional nations include the duty to notify of
imminent danger to the marine environment from pollution or actual damage from
pollution.[74] Nations are encouraged to work together to form regional plans for the
preservation of the marine environment as well as to develop contingency plans for responding
to pollution incidents and coordinating with one another in data-sharing on regional marine
pollution and establishing scientific criteria for the promulgation of regulations regarding marine
pollution.[75]

Dumping at Sea
Dumping is defined in Article 1 as "any deliberate disposal of wastes or other matter from
vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea" or the disposal of the vessels,
aircraft, platforms, or structure themselves at sea.[76] UNCLOS makes an exemption for the
disposal of wastes that are incidental to the normal operations of vessels, aircraft, etc.[77]
Article 210 specifically addresses the issue of dumping and requires nations to enact their own
legislation on the issue. Paragraph 6 requires that national laws and regulations be at least as
effective as global rules and standards. These global rules and standards are articulated in
the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter ,
which was concluded in London in 1972, the year prior to the start of UNCLOS III.[78]
Coastal nations are recognized as the only authority that can approve any dumping activities
within its territorial sea, its EEZ, or on its continental shelf. Nations are given the exclusive
authority to authorize or deny such activities. Nations who authorize dumping activities are
required to give consideration as to how other nations may be adversely affected by dumping
activities in areas governed the local nation.[79]
There are three ways in which anti-dumping measures can be enforced. The first means of
enforcement is by a coastal nation, which has the right to enforce anti-dumping measures within
its territorial sea, its EEZ, or its continental shelf. The second means of enforcement is
enforcement by Flag Nations, which may always enforce their own laws against any violator
flying its flag regardless of where the offense occurred. The third and final means of enforcing
anti-dumping measures is enforcement by a the third party, which would be a nation in which
ships take on wastes within its territory. If multiple nations appear to have jurisdiction over an
issue of dumping, only one is required to take on the individual case.[80]

References
1^ United Nations, The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (A Historical Perspective), available

at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm(accessed 9 June 2010).

2^ Ibid.

3^ Ibid.

4^ United States Energy Information Administration, Gulf of Mexico Fact Sheet, available at
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oog/special/gulf/gulf_fact_sheet.html (accessed 10 June 2010); United States Energy Information

Administration, Energy Calculators, available at

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=about_energy_conversion_calculator-basics (accessed 10 June 2010); United

States Energy Information Administration, Crude Oil Production, available at

http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/infosheets/crudeproduction.html (accessed 10 June 2010). Note: Due to differences in density in

various types of oil, the actual volume of a ton of oil can be different from barrel to barrel. As such, the numbers provided are

best guess estimates based on the information available and should not be viewed as exact.

5^ President Harry S. Truman, President Truman's Proclamations on U.S. Policy Concerning Natural Resources of Sea Bed and

Fisheries on High Seas, available athttp://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/450928a.html (accessed 10 June 2010).


6^ Ibid.
7^ United Nations, The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (A Historical Perspective), available

at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm(accessed 9 June 2010).

8^ United Nations, Diplomatic Conferences: United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1958, available at

(http://untreaty.un.org/cod/diplomaticconferences/lawofthesea-1958/lawofthesea-1958.html(accessed 10 June 2010).

9^ Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, 29 April 1958, 516 U.N.T.S. 205. (available

athttp://untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/8_1_1958_territorial_sea.pdf)

10^ Convention on the High Seas, 29 April 1958, 450 U.N.T.S. 11 (available

athttp://untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/8_1_1958_high_seas.pdf).

11^ Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas, 29 April 1958, 559 U.N.T.S. 285

(available athttp://untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/8_1_1958_fishing.pdf).

12^ Convention on the Continental Shelf, 29 April 1958, 499 U.N.T.S. 311 (available

athttp://untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/8_1_1958_continental_shelf.pdf).
13^ United Nations, Diplomatic Conferences: United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1958, available at

(http://untreaty.un.org/cod/diplomaticconferences/lawofthesea-1958/lawofthesea-1958.html(accessed 10 June 2010);

International Law Commission, Law of the Sea: Regime of the Territorial Sea, available

at http://untreaty.un.org/ilc/summaries/8_2.htm (accessed 11 June 2010).

14^ United Nations, Diplomatic Conferences: United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1960, available

at http://untreaty.un.org/cod/diplomaticconferences/lawofthesea-1960/lawofthesea-1960.html(accessed 10 June 2010).

15^ United Nations, The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (A Historical Perspective), available

at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm(accessed 9 June 2010).

16^ United Nations, Diplomatic Conferences: United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1973-1982, available

at http://untreaty.un.org/cod/diplomaticconferences/lawofthesea-1982/lawofthesea-1982.html(accessed 9 June 2010).

17^ Ibid.

18^ United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, December 10, 1982, 1833 U.N.T.S. 397 [hereinafter UNCLOS].

19^ UNCLOS art 308.

20^ Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, art 2(1)(d).

21^ UNCLOS art 5.

22^ UNCLOS art 8.

23^ UNCLOS art 2.

24^ UNCLOS art 17; UNCLOS art 24.

25^ United Nations, The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (A Historical Perspective), available

at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm(accessed 9 June 2010).

26^ United Nations, The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (A Historical Perspective), available

at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm(accessed 9 June 2010).

27^ UNCLOS art 37 and 38.


28^ UNCLOS art 34.
29^ UNCLOS art 33.

30^ UNCLOS art 57.

31^ UNCLOS art 58.

32^ UNCLOS art 56; UNCLOS art 61-64.

33^ United Nations, The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (A Historical Perspective), available

at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm(accessed 9 June 2010).

34^ United Nations, The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (A Historical Perspective), available

at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm(accessed 9 June 2010).

35^ OCS Alternative Energy and Alternative Use Programmatic EIS, The Outer Continental Shelf, available

at http://ocsenergy.anl.gov/guide/ocs/index.cfm (accessed 14 June 2010); Department of the Navy Office of Naval Research,

Ocean Regions: Ocean Floor - Continental Margin & Rise, available

athttp://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/ocean/regions/oceanfloor2.htm (accessed 14 June 2010).


36^ United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, The Definition of the Continental Shelf and the Criteria

for the Establishment of its Outer Limits, available

athttp://www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/continental_shelf_description.htm (accessed 14 June 2010).

37^ UNCLOS art 76; United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, The Definition of the Continental Shelf

and the Criteria for the Establishment of its Outer Limits, available

athttp://www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/continental_shelf_description.htm (accessed 14 June 2010); United Nations, The United

Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (A Historical Perspective), available

athttp://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm (accessed 9 June 2010).

38^ UNCLOS art 77.

39^ UNCLOS art 78.

40^ UNCLOS Annex II, art 4.

41^ Article 82.

42^ United Nations, The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (A Historical Perspective), available

at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm(accessed 9 June 2010).

43^ UNCLOS art 86.

44^ UNCLOS art 89.

45^ UNCLOS art 87.

46^ UNCLOS art 87

47^ UNCLOS art 99-109.

48^ UNCLOS art 1.

49^ UNCLOS art 136.

50^ UNCLOS art 137.

51^ UNCLOS Annex II, art 1.


52^ UNCLOS Annex II, art ..
53^ UNCLOS art 157.

54^ UNCLOS art 157(1), art 1

55^ UNCLOS art 157(2).

56^ UNCLOS art 157.

57^ UNCLOS art 159(1).

58^ UNCLOS art 160.

59^ UNCLOS art 161.

60^ UNCLOS art 162(1).

61^ UNCLOS art 162.

62^ UNCLOS art 163.

63^ UNCLOS art 164(1).

64^ UNCLOS art 164(2).


65^ UNCLOS art 165(1).

66^ UNCLOS art 165(2).

67^ UNCLOS art 166.

68^ UNCLOS Annex VI, art 2-3.

69^ UNCLOS Annex VI, art 5.

70^ International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, General Information - Overview: International Tribunal for the Law of the

Sea, available at http://www.itlos.org/start2_en.html (accessed 18 June 2010).

71^ UNCLOS Annex VI, art 14.

72^ UNCLOS art 194.

73^ UNCLOS art 204.

74^ UNCLOS art 198.

75^ UNCLOS art 199-201.

76^ UNCLOS art 1(5)(a).

77^ UNCLOS art 1(5)(b)(i).

78^ International Maritime Organization, UNCLOS, available

athttp://www.imo.org/dynamic/mainframe.asp?topic_id=1514&doc_id=7602 (accessed 9 June 2010).

79^ UNCLOS art 210(5).

80^ UNCLOS art 216.


Page 1 of 3

INTERNATIONAL LAW MOCK MCQs


TOPIC - EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE

QUESTION 1
What is the full form of EEZ?

ALTERNATIVES
A. Executive Economic Zone
B. Exclusive Economic Zone
C. Excluding Economic Zone
D. Elusive Economic Zone

CORRECT ANSWER
B

QUESTION 2
To what maximum distance from the Territorial Sea can the EEZ extend?

ALTERNATIVES
A. 200 Nmi
B. 188 Nmi
C. 24 Nmi
D. none of the above

CORRECT ANSWER
B

QUESTION 3
Which of the following countries has the largest EEZ?

ALTERNATIVES
A. Australia
B. Russia
C. USA
D. China

CORRECT ANSWER
C
Page 2 of 3

QUESTION 4

Which of the following rights does the coastal state have with regard to Living and Non-Living
Natural Resources in EEZ:

1. Exploitation
2. Desecrate
3. Manage
4. Exploration
5. Control
6. Conserve
7. Modify

ALTERNATIVES
A. 1,2,3,4
B. 5,3,4,6
C. 1,3,4,6
D. 7,2,4,6

CORRECT ANSWER
C

QUESTION 5
Which of the following is true with respect to the Right of Hot Pursuit in EEZ?

ALTERNATIVES
A. It can start in EEZ but cannot end in EEZ
B. It cannot start in EEZ but can end in EEZ
C. It can start in EEZ & can end in EEZ
D. Hot Pursuit cannot be exercised in EEZ

CORRECT ANSWER
C

QUESTION 6
Which of the following jurisdictions does a state exercise over installations and structures in
EEZ?
1. Certification of construction fitness,
2. Customs laws,
3. Fiscal laws,
4. Immigration laws and regulations,
5. Entry to ports and docking regulations

ALTERNATIVES
A. 1,2,3
B. 2,3,4
Page 3 of 3

C. 3,4,5
D. 4,5,1

CORRECT ANSWER
B - Art 60

QUESTION 7
The landward limit of EEZ is .

ALTERNATIVES
A. Baseline
B. Internal Waters
C. Territorial Waters
D. 24nm from baseline

CORRECT ANSWER
C

QUESTION 8
Which of the following freedoms does a land-locked state enjoy in EEZ?

ALTERNATIVES
A. Navigation
B. Laying submarine cables and pipelines
C. Overflight
D. None of the above
E. All the above

CORRECT ANSWER
E - Art 58
Questions on High Seas and Seabed Mining

1. Which State exercises jurisdiction over vessels on the high seas?

a. All States may exercise jurisdiction over foreign vessels on the high
seas
b. States may exercise jurisdiction over foreign vessels on the high
seas only in cases of criminal activity that concerns them
c. The flag State is to exercise exclusive jurisdiction over its
vessels on the high seas, with the exception of some specific
cases
d. The flag State is the only State to exercise exclusive jurisdiction
over its vessels on the high seas with no exception

2. Which of the following freedoms does a State enjoy in High seas


pursuant to Art 87(1) of LOSC?

I. Freedom of navigation
II. Freedom of overflight
III. Freedom of fishing
IV. Freedom of scientific research

a. I and II
b. II and III
c. I and IV
d. I, II, III and IV
3. Which of the following statements are true?

I. The flag state jurisdiction comprises of both legislative and


enforcement jurisdiction over its ships on High seas
II. Protest at sea using vessels is considered unlawful use of the sea
III. Only States are entitled to fly their flags on their vessels.
IV. The flag state has enforcement jurisdiction on all peoples within its
ships flying its flag regardless of their nationalities

a. I and II
b. II and IV
c. I and IV
d. III and IV

4. A State may not grant nationality to a ship which already has a


nationality of another state.

a. True
b. False

5. Hot pursuit is ___________ extension of the coastal State’s jurisdiction


onto the high seas.

a. Continuing
b. Temporary
c. Permanent
d. Unconditional

6. When does a ship become stateless?

I. If a ship sails under the flags of two or more States


II. If the flag state revokes the registration of the vessel
III. If a ship becomes a pirate ship
IV. If a ship revokes its registration on its own accord

a. I and II
b. I, II and III
c. II and IV
d. I, II and IV

7. Hot pursuit may be continued outside the territorial sea or the


contiguous zone even if the pursuit has been terminated previously.

a. True
b. False

8. The exploration and exploitation of these High Seas mineral deposits


is governed by which Authority?

a. The International Seabed Authority


b. The International Nautical Authority
c. The International Sea Mining Authority
d. The Deep Sea Mining Authority
9. The International Seabed Authority sits at _________

a. New York
b. London
c. Jamaica
d. Beirut
MCQs- Territorial Sea

1) Under the Convention on the law of the Sea, the breadth of the territorial
sea is______
A) 10 Nmi
B) 12Nmi
C) 24 Nmi
D) 200 Nmi

2) Contiguous Zone is limited to the maximum distance of _________ from


the baseline
A) 24 Nmi.
B) 50 Nmi
C) 12Nmi
D) None of the above.

3) Foreign warships have ____________


A) The right of free passage in the territorial sea.
B) The right of innocent passage in the territorial sea.
C) The right to stay in the territorial sea.
D) None of these.

4) A land-locked state is _________


A) Surrounded by water from all sides.
B) Surrounded by enemy states from all sides.
C) Surrounded by land from all sides.
D) None of these.

5) The continental shelf is situated beneath the sea level at the approximate
depth of______
A) 200 mts.
B) 300 mts.
C) 500 mts.
D) 900 mts.

6) Territorial waters are____________


A) Waters within the territorial limits of a state.
B) Waters dividing the territories of two or more states.
C) Adjacent to the high sea.
D) None of these.
MCQs Continental Shelf

1. Consider the following

I. The area of the 12 Nautical miles beyond the territorial waters baseline is called
continental Shelf.
II. The countries that coming within the ambit of continental Shelf can enforce laws only
in four areas, i.e. Pollution, taxation, customs and immigration.

Which of the above is/are correct about continental Shelf provision of the Law of the
Sea Convention?

A. Only I
B. Only II
C. Both I and II
D. Neither I nor II

2. A State has the right to exploit in the Continental Shelf:

A. Living resources
B. Non-living resources
C. Both living and non-living resources
D. None of these

3. What kind of rights do coastal States enjoy over their continental shelf?

A. The coastal State enjoy ipso facto and ab initio sovereign rights over its
continental shelf for the purpose of exploring it and exploiting its natural
resources.

B. The coastal State may exercise sovereign rights over its continental shelf only upon
its declaration.

C. The coastal State exercise sovereign rights over its continental shelf for the purpose
of exploiting its fishing resources.
D. The coastal State may exercise only limited rights over its continental shelf and only
upon the consent of its neighbouring States.

4. A Continental Shelf is situated beneath the sea level at the approximate depth of :

A. 100m
B. 200m
C. 300m
D. 500m

5. Which Article of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Defines
Continental Shelf?

A. Art 76
B. Art 55
C. Art 2 (1)
D. None of the Above
UNCLOS MCQs

1)In which place the law of the Sea convention or the law of the sea treaty was open for
signature?
a)Montego,Jamaica
b)Kingston, Jamaica
c)Port Antonio, Jamaica
d)Negril,Jamaica..

2)How many countries are binding with the law of the sea convention or the law of sea treaty?
a)154 countries
b)167 countries and European community
c)154 countries and Afro-Asian community
d)154 countries and Gulf community

3)When was the law of the Sea convention or law of the sea treaty came into force?
a)18 November 1994
b)14 December 1994
c)16 November 1994
d)14 November 1994

4) Which of the following is not the part of the provision of the law of sea convention?
a) Navigation
b) Archipelagic status &transit regimes
c) Protection of Marine environment
d)Coral protection.

5) According to the law of the sea convention, a...... including the seabed and the water
column,may be established by coastal states in which such states exercise sovereign rights and
jurisdiction on all resource related activities..
a)200 Nmi Exclusive Economic zone
b)150 Nmi Exclusive Economic zone
c)300 Nmi Exclusive Economic zone
d)400 Nmi Exclusive Economic zone

6) Consider the following-


I- country can make laws without interference of alien country,regulate it's uses and use of its
resources.
II- Foreign vessels have no right of passage within internal waters without permission.
Which of the following are correct statements about internal waters provision of the law of Sea
convention?
a)Only I
b)Only II
c)Both I and II
d) Neither I nor II..

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