United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; UNCLOS

Summary
I. UNCLOS is an international agreement signed by 60 nations that defines the rights and
resonsibilities! regulates all ase"ts of the resour"es and use of the seas and o"eans! and sets
definite territorial#sea boundaries. $he law also establishes the International Seabed %uthority
whi"h regulates all mining and mineral#related a"tivities in the international seabed and the
International $ribunal for the Law of the Sea for the settlement of disutes.
$he Convention is a &a"'age deal&! to be a""eted as a whole in all its arts without
reservation on any ase"t.
II. $erritorial Limits(
). Internal *aters(
*aters within the baseline of the states over whi"h the state has "omlete sovereignty
and not even inno"ent assage is allowed. La'es and rivers are "onsidered internal
waters.
%ll &ar"hielagi" waters& within the outermost islands of an ar"hielagi" state su"h
as Indonesia or the +hiliines are also "onsidered internal waters! and are treated the
same with the e,"etion that inno"ent assage through them must be allowed. $he
ar"hielagi" states may however designate "ertain sea lanes through these waters to
regulate e,a"tly where foreign vessels may ass.
-. $erritorial *aters(
%s defined by the )./- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea! it is a belt of
"oastal waters e,tending at most )- nauti"al miles from the baseline of a "oastal state.
$he law allows only inno"ent assage through territorial waters! whi"h is "ontinous
assage that is not harmful to the ea"e! good order! or se"urity of the "oastal state.
0. Contiguous 1one(
$he "ontiguous 2one is a band of water e,tending from the outer edge of the territorial
sea to u to -3 nauti"al miles 433.3 'm; -5.6 mi6 from the baseline.
$he State "an e,ert limited "ontrol for the urose of reventing or unishing
&infringement of its "ustoms! fis"al! immigration or sanitary laws and regulations within
its territory or territorial sea&! i.e. for "hasing irates and other "riminals.
3. 7,"lusive 7"onomi" 1one(
%n e,"lusive e"onomi" 2one e,tends from the outer limit of the territorial sea to a
ma,imum of -00 nauti"al miles 4050.3 'm; -00.- mi6 from the territorial sea baseline.
$his in"ludes the "ontiguous 2one.
% "oastal nation has "ontrol of all e"onomi" resour"es within its e,"lusive e"onomi"
2one! in"luding fishing! mining! oil e,loration! and any ollution of those resour"es.
8owever! it "annot rohibit assage or loitering above! on! or under the surfa"e of the
sea that is in "omlian"e with the laws and regulations adoted by the "oastal State in
a""ordan"e with the rovisions of the UN Convention! within that ortion of its
e,"lusive e"onomi" 2one beyond its territorial sea.
It is often wrongly referred to as 9territorial waters:.
III. Settling of ;isutes
$he Convention on the Law of the Sea < unli'e other international treaties whi"h "ontain
the rovisions of disute settlements in a searate otional roto"ol < has the me"hanism
for the settlement of disutes is in"ororated into the do"ument! thus ma'ing it obligatory
for arties to the Convention to go through the settlement ro"edure in "ase of a disute
with another arty.
$he 9default: rule in UNCLOS is that if there is a disute between two States "on"erning
the interretation or ali"ation of any rovision in the Convention! it is sub=e"t to the
system of "omulsory binding disute settlement.
$he states involved in the disute must settle in by ea"eful means su"h as dire"t tal's. If
dire"t tal's between the arties fail! the Convention gives them a "hoi"e among four
ro"edures( 4)6submission of the disute to the International $ribunal for the Law of the
Sea! 4-6 ad=udi"ation by the International Court of >usti"e! 406 submission to binding
international arbitration ro"edures! 436 or submission to se"ial arbitration tribunals with
e,ertise in se"ifi" tyes of disutes.
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is "reated by mandate of the UNCLOS. $he
$ribunal has a set of -) serving =udges from a variety of states arties. It has three rimary
bodies( the Chamber of Summary +ro"edure! the Chamber for ?isheries ;isutes! and the
Chamber for @arine 7nvironment ;isutes.
%ll of these ro"edures involve binding third#arty settlement! in whi"h an arbitrator hands
down a de"ision that the arties are "ommitted in advan"e to rese"t.
$he only e,"etion to these rovisions is made for sensitive "ases involving national
sovereignty. In su"h "ir"umstan"es! the arties are obliged to submit their disute to a
"on"iliation "ommission! but they will not be bound by any de"ision or finding of the
"ommission.
IA. %li"ation and Imlementation(
%ll states are bound by their signing of the agreement to ta'e art in the imlementation
and ali"ation of the rovisions of UNCLOS.
$he UN has no dire"t oerational role in the imlementation of the Convention; the
Se"retary Beneral of the United Nations re"eives instruments of ratifi"ation and a""ession
and the UN only rovides suort for meetings of states arty to the Convention.
$here is! however! a role layed by organi2ations su"h as the International @aritime
Organi2ation! the International *haling Commission! the International Seabed
%uthority 4the latter being established by the UN Convention6! the International $ribunal of
the Law of the Sea! and et".
$he ;ivision for O"ean %ffairs and the Law of the Sea 4;O%LOS6 of the United Nations
Offi"e of Legal %ffairs also hels to "oordinate the Organi2ationCs a"tivities and rogrammes
in the area of marine affairs.
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I. +hiliine $erritorial @a(
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