Law Of The Sea - International Law

Interests protected by law of the sea

• Extension of state jurisdiction to territorial waters

• Freedom of navigation on the high seas

• Rights to economic exploitation (fishing, mining etc) within a broad band outside territorial waters

• Common heritage of mankind – high seas and deep seabed

Legal regime

• Treaty: UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, entered into force 1994. This treaty is considered to mostly codify customary IL.

• Tribunal: International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

The territorial sea of a state ends at 12 nautical miles from the coast. It includes the airspace and seabed, internal waters and waters between islands of an archipelago state.

Rights of the state in territorial sea

In its territorial sea, the state as the same sovereignty it has over land. Exceptions apply for:

• the right of innocent passage of foreign ships (Corfu Channel Case). Under this rule a coastal state cannot stop or board a ship in its territorial sea to enforce civil jurisdiction; however, it may enforce criminal.

• The immunity of warships and government ships that arise under state immunity, as long as the ships are passing peacefully and without belligerence.

The contiguous zone of a state must be declared; a state may do so for the areas between 12-24 nautical miles from the baseline. [Note if this declaration has been made]

Rights of the state in the contiguous zone

In this zone, states have limited jurisdiction to prevent and punish the infringement laws relating to customs, immigration, fishing and sanitary requirements.

States may claim rights to the sea bed based on either its continental shelf or an exclusive economic zone.

Continental shelf

Rights to the sea bed exist based on the historical right of a coastal state to the continental shelf as a natural prolongation of territory. These rights arise automatically.

The customary IL is supplemented by UNCLOS Art 76 which provides that there is a presumptive continental shelf up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline. States may claim up to 350 nautical miles if the physical shelf extends further than 200 nautical miles.

• If the shelf is shared by 2 coastal states, boundary determined by equitable principles

• The sea above the seabed is considered the high seas

Rights to the continental shelf

States will have rights to the sea bed and sub-soil resources of the continental shelf, including exclusive rights to natural resources under the sea bed.

• The sea above the sea bed is treated as the high seas.

Exclusive economic zone

The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extends up to 200 nautical miles from the coastline. This zone is similar to continental shelf, but not related to actual geography. This must be claimed by the state, unlike the automatic rights that arise over continental shelf.

Rights to the exclusive economic zone

In the EEZ, the state has the exclusive right to natural resources (including the fish and minerals) of the waters and seabed.

Other than these limitations, other states enjoy high seas freedoms (navigation, laying cables etc).

All areas beyond the continental shelf and EEZ are considered the high seas.

Rights in the high seas

Every state has the same rights and freedoms in the high seas. The high seas are reserved for peaceful purposes.

• Not subject to sovereignty of any one state

• Open to coastal & land-locked states

• Deep seabed minerals are considered “the common...