Law of the sea

• United Nations Convention on the Law of

the Sea.
• a body of public international law dealing
with
– navigational rights,
– mineral rights,
– jurisdiction over coastal waters
– and international law governing relationships
between nations.
UNCLOS
 UNCLOS
• The United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),
– also called the Law of the Sea
Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty,
–is the international agreement that
resulted from the third United Nations
Conference on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS III),
• which took place between 1973 and 1982.
 UNCLOS
• The Law of the Sea Convention
–defines the rights and responsibilities
of nations with respect to their use of the
world's oceans,
– establishing guidelines for
• businesses,
• the environment,
• and the management of marine natural
resources.
 UNCLOS
• The Convention, concluded in 1982, replaced
four 1958 treaties.
• UNCLOS came into force in 1994, a year
after Guyana became the 60th nation to sign the
treaty.[1]
• As of January 2015, 166 countries and
the European Union have joined in the
Convention.
• However, it is uncertain as to what extent the
Convention codifies customary international law.
 UNCLOS
• While the Secretary General of the United
Nations receives instruments of ratification and
accession and the UN provides support for
meetings of states party to the Convention, the UN
has no direct operational role in the
implementation of the Convention.
• There is, however, a role played by organizations
such as the International Maritime Organization,
the International Whaling Commission, and
the International Seabed Authority (ISA). (The ISA
was established by the UN Convention.)
 Historical background
• The UNCLOS replaces the older and weaker 'freedom of
the seas' concept, dating from the 17th century:
– national rights were limited to a specified belt of water
extending from a nation's coastlines, usually three nautical
miles, according to the 'cannon shot' rule developed by the
Dutch jurist Cornelius van Bynkershoek.
• All waters beyond national boundaries were
considered international waters: free to all nations, but
belonging to none of them (the mare liberum principle
promulgated by Grotius).
• In the early 20th century, some nations expressed their
desire to extend national claims: to include mineral
resources, to protect fish stocks, and to provide the
means to enforce pollution controls.
 Historical background
• (The League of Nations called a 1930 conference at The
Hague, but no agreements resulted.)
• Using the customary international law principle of a
nation's right to protect its natural resources,
President Trumanin 1945 extended United States
control to all the natural resources of its continental
shelf.
• Other nations were quick to follow suit.
• Between 1946 and 1950, Chile, Peru,
and Ecuador extended their rights to a distance of 200
nautical miles (370 km) to cover theirHumboldt
Current fishing grounds.
• Other nations extended their territorial seas to 12
nautical miles (22 km).
 Historical background
• By 1967, only 25 nations still used the old three-
mile (5 km) limit, while 66 nations had set a 12-
nautical-mile (22 km) territorial limit and eight had
set a 200-nautical-mile (370 km) limit.
• As of 28 May 2008, only two countries still use the
three-mile (5 km) limit: Jordan and Palau.
• That limit is also used in certain Australian islands,
an area of Belize, some Japanese straits, certain
areas of Papua New Guinea, and a few British
Overseas Territories, such as Anguilla.
 UNCLOS I
• In 1956, the United Nations held its first Conference on
the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I) atGeneva, Switzerland.
UNCLOS I resulted in four treaties concluded in 1958:
• Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone,
entry into force: 10 September 1964
• Convention on the Continental Shelf, entry into force:
10 June 1964
• Convention on the High Seas, entry into force: 30
September 1962
• Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living
Resources of the High Seas, entry into force: 20 March
1966
• Although UNCLOS I was considered a success, it left
open the important issue of breadth of territorial
waters.
 UNCLOS II
• In 1960, the United Nations held the second
Conference on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS II");
• however, the six-week Geneva conference did not
result in any new agreements.[5]
• Generally speaking, developing nations and third
world countries participated only as clients, allies,
or dependents of the United States or the Soviet
Union, with no significant voice of their own.[
 UNCLOS III
• The issue of varying claims of territorial waters was
raised in the UN in 1967 by Arvid Pardo, of Malta, and
in 1973 the Third United Nations Conference on the
Law of the Sea was convened in New York.
• In an attempt to reduce the possibility of groups of
nation-states dominating the negotiations, the
conference used a consensus process rather than
majority vote.
• With more than 160 nations participating, the
conference lasted until 1982.
• The resulting convention came into force on 16
November 1994, one year after the sixtieth
state, Guyana, ratified the treaty.
 UNCLOS III
• The convention introduced a number of provisions.
• The most significant issues covered were
– setting limits,
– navigation,
– archipelagic status and transit regimes,
– exclusive economic zones (EEZs),
– continental shelf jurisdiction,
– deep seabed mining,
– the exploitation regime,
– protection of the marine environment,
– scientific research,
– and settlement of disputes.
 UNCLOS III
• The convention set the limit of
various areas, measured from a
carefully defined baseline.
• (Normally, a sea baseline follows the
low-water line, but when the
coastline is deeply indented, has
fringing islands or is highly unstable,
straight baselines may be used.)
 Baseline
• Normally, the baseline from which the territorial
sea is measured is the low-water line along the
coast as marked on large-scale charts officially
recognized by the coastal state.
• This is either the low-water mark closest to the
shore, or alternatively it may be an unlimited
distance from permanently exposed land, provided
that some portion of elevations exposed at low
tide but covered at high tide (like mud flats) is
within 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) of
permanently exposed land.
 Baseline
• Straight baselines can alternatively be defined
connecting fringing islands along a coast, across the
mouths of rivers, or with certain restrictions across the
mouths of bays.
• In this case, a bay is defined as "a well-marked
indentation whose penetration is in such proportion to
the width of its mouth as to contain land-locked waters
and constitute more than a mere curvature of the
coast.
• An indentation shall not, however, be regarded as a
bay unless its area is as large as, or larger than, that of
the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across
the mouth of that indentation".
• The baseline across the bay must also be no more than
24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi) in length.
 The areas are as follows:
• 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.
 The areas are as follows:
• Territorial waters
• Out to seaward 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres; 14
miles) from the baseline,
– the coastal state is free to set laws, regulate use, and
use any resource.
• Vessels were given the right of innocent
passage through any territorial waters, with
strategic straits allowing the passage of military
craft as transit passage, in that naval vessels are
allowed to maintain postures that would be illegal
in territorial waters.
 The areas are as follows:
• Territorial waters
• "Innocent passage" is defined by the convention as
passing through waters in an expeditious and
continuous manner, which is not "prejudicial to the
peace, good order or the security" of the coastal
state.
– Fishing, polluting, weapons practice, and spying are not
"innocent", and submarines and other underwater
vehicles are required to navigate on the surface and to
show their flag.
– Nations can also temporarily suspend innocent passage
in specific areas of their territorial seas, if doing so is
essential for the protection of its security.
 The areas are as follows:
• Archipelagic waters
• The convention set the definition of Archipelagic States
in Part IV, which also defines how the state can draw its
territorial borders.
• A baseline is drawn between the outermost points of
the outermost islands, subject to these points being
sufficiently close to one another.
• All waters inside this baseline are designated
Archipelagic Waters
• The state has full sovereignty over these waters (like
internal waters), but foreign vessels have right of
innocent passage through archipelagic waters (like
territorial waters).
 The areas are as follows:
• Contiguous zone
• Beyond the 12-nautical-mile (22 km) limit, there is a
further 12 nautical miles (22 km) from the territorial
sea baseline limit, the contiguous zone,
– in which a state can continue to enforce laws in four
specific areas: customs, taxation, immigration and
pollution,
• if the infringement started within the state's territory or
territorial waters,
• or if this infringement is about to occur within the state's
territory or territorial waters.[6]
• This makes the contiguous zone a hot pursuit area.
 The areas are as follows:
• Exclusive economic zones (EEZs)
• These extend from the edge of the territorial
sea out to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres;
230 miles) from the baseline.
• Within this area, the coastal nation has sole
exploitation rights over all natural resources.
• In casual use, the term may include the
territorial sea and even the continental shelf.
 The areas are as follows:
• Exclusive economic zones (EEZs)
– The EEZs were introduced to halt the increasingly heated
clashes over fishing rights, although oil was also
becoming important.
– The success of an offshore oil platform in the Gulf of
Mexico in 1947 was soon repeated elsewhere in the
world, and by 1970 it was technically feasible to operate
in waters 4000 metres deep.
• Foreign nations have the freedom of navigation
and over-flight, subject to the regulation of the
coastal states.
• Foreign states may also lay submarine pipes and
cables.
 The areas are as follows:
• Continental shelf
• The continental shelf is defined as the natural
prolongation of the land territory to the continental
margin’s outer edge, or 200 nautical miles (370 km)
from the coastal state's baseline, whichever is
greater.
– A state's continental shelf may exceed 200 nautical
miles (370 km) until the natural prolongation ends.
– However, it may never exceed 350 nautical miles (650
kilometres; 400 miles) from the baseline;
– or it may never exceed 100 nautical miles (190
kilometres; 120 miles) beyond the 2,500 meter isobath
(the line connecting the depth of 2,500 meters).
 The areas are as follows:
• Continental shelf
• Coastal states have the right to harvest
mineral and non-living material in the
subsoil of its continental shelf, to the
exclusion of others.
• Coastal states also have exclusive control
over living resources "attached" to the
continental shelf, but not to creatures
living in the water column beyond the
 UNCLOS III
• Aside from its provisions defining ocean
boundaries,
– the convention establishes general obligations for
safeguarding the marine environment and protecting
freedom of scientific research on the high seas,
– and also creates an innovative legal regime for
controlling mineral resource exploitation in deep seabed
areas beyond national jurisdiction,
– through an International Seabed Authority and
theCommon heritage of mankind principle.
• Landlocked states are given a right of access to and
from the sea, without taxation of traffic through
transit states.
Schematic map of maritime zones
 Maritime boundary
• A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of the Earth's water surface areas
using physiographic or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually includes areas of
exclusive national rightsover mineral and biological resources,[1] encompassing
maritime features, limits and zones.[2]
• Generally, a maritime boundary is delineated through a particular measure from a
jurisdiction's coastline.
• Although in some countries the term maritime boundary represent borders of
amaritime nation[3] and are recognized by the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea, they usually serve to identify international waters.
• Maritime boundaries exist in the context of territorial waters, contiguous zones,
and exclusive economic zones; however, the terminology does not
encompass lake or river boundaries, which are considered within the context of
land boundaries.
• Some maritime boundaries have remained indeterminate despite efforts to clarify
them. This is explained by an array of factors, some of which illustrate regional
problems.[4]
• The delineation of maritime boundaries has strategic, economic and
environmental implications.
 Terminology
• The terms boundary, frontier and border are often used as
if they were interchangeable, but they are also terms with
precise meanings.[6]
• A boundary is a line.
• The terms "frontier", "borderland" and "border" are zones
of indeterminate width.
• Such areas forms the outermost part of a country.
• Borders are bounded on one side by a national boundary.[7]
• There are variations in the specific terminology of maritime
boundary agreements which have been concluded since
the 1970s.
• Such differences are less important than what is being
delimited
 Features
• Features which affect maritime boundaries
include islands and the submerged seabed of
the continental shelf.[2]
• The process of boundary delimitation in
the ocean encompasses the natural
prolongation of geological features and outlying
territory.
• The process of establishing "positional" borders
encompasses the distinction between previously
resolved and never-resolved controversies
 Limits
• The limits of maritime boundaries are expressed
in polylines and in polygon layers of sovereignty
and control,[10] calculated from the declaration of
a baseline.
• The conditions under which a state may establish
such baseline are described in the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• A baseline of a country can be the low water line,
a straight baseline (a line that encloses bays,
estuaries, inland waters,...) or a combination of
the two
 Zones
• The zones of maritime boundaries are expressed in concentric limits
surrounding coastal and feature baselines.[1]
• Inland waters—the zone inside the baseline.
• Territorial sea—the zone extending 12 nm. from the baseline.[2]
• Contiguous zone—the area extending 24 nm. from the baseline.[2]
• Exclusive Economic Zone—the area extending 200 nm. from the
baseline except when the space between two countries is less than
400 nm.[2]
• In the case of overlapping zones, the boundary is presumed to
conform to the equidistance principle or it is explicitly described in
a multilateral treaty.[1]
 Zones
• Contemporary negotiations have
produced tripoint and quadripoint determinations.
• For example, the 1982 Australia–France Marine
Delimitation Agreement, it was assumed that France has
sovereignty over Matthew and Hunter Islands, a territory
that is also claimed byVanuatu.
• The northernmost point in the boundary is a tripoint with
the Solomon Islands.
• The boundary runs in a roughly north–south direction and
then turns and runs west–east until it almost reaches
the 170th meridian east.[11]
• The effect of these negotiated specifics is reflected in the
map of Australian maritime zones at the right.
Schematic map of maritime zones
 Territorial waters
• Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the
1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,[1] is a belt
of coastal waters extending at most 12nautical 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 (both military and civilian) are
allowed innocent passage through it; this sovereignty also extends
to the airspace over and seabed below. Adjustment of these
boundaries is called, in international law, maritime delimitation.
• The term "territorial waters" is also sometimes used informally to
describe 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.
 Baseline
• Normally, the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured is the low-water
line along the coast as marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the
coastal state.
• This is either the low-water mark closest to the shore, or alternatively it may be an
unlimited distance from permanently exposed land, provided that some portion of
elevations exposed at low tide but covered at high tide (like mud flats) is within 12
nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) of permanently exposed land.
• Straight baselines can alternatively be defined connecting fringing islands along a
coast, across the mouths of rivers, or with certain restrictions across the mouths of
bays.
• In this case, a bay is defined as "a well-marked indentation whose penetration is
in such proportion to the width of its mouth as to contain land-locked waters and
constitute more than a mere curvature of the coast.
• An indentation shall not, however, be regarded as a bay unless its area is as large
as, or larger than, that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across the
mouth of that indentation".
• The baseline across the bay must also be no more than 24 nautical miles (44 km;
28 mi) in length.
 Internal waters

Internal and external territorial waters of thePhilippines prior to the adoption of new
baselines in 2009.
 Internal waters
• Waters landward of the baseline are defined as internal
waters, over which the state has complete sovereignty:
not even innocent passage is allowed.
• Lakes and rivers are considered internal waters.
• All "archipelagic waters" within the outermost islands
of an archipelagic state such as Indonesia or
the Philippines are also considered internal waters,
– and are treated the same with the exception that innocent
passage through them must be allowed.
• However, archipelagic states may designate certain sea
lanes through these waters.
 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.
• In the U.S. federal system, individual states exercise ownership (subject to
federal law) up to 3 nautical miles (9 nautical miles for Texas and Florida)
from shore, while the federal government exercises sole territorial
jurisdiction further out (see Tidelands).
 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, within which 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.
• The United States invoked a contiguous zone out to 24 nmi on 24
September 1999.[2]
 Exclusive economic zone
• An exclusive economic zone extends from the outer limit of the territorial
sea to a maximum of 200 nautical miles (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) from the
territorial sea baseline, thus it includes the contiguous zone.
• A coastal nation has control of all economic resources within its exclusive
economic zone, including fishing, mining, oil exploration, and any pollution
of those resources.
• However, it cannot prohibit passage or loitering above, on, or under the
surface of the sea that is in compliance with the laws and regulations
adopted by the coastal State in accordance with the provisions of the UN
Convention, within that portion of its exclusive economic zone beyond its
territorial sea.
• Before 1982, coastal nations arbitrarily extended their territorial waters in
an effort to control activities which are now regulated by the exclusive
economic zone, such as offshore oil exploration or fishing rights (see Cod
Wars). Indeed, the exclusive economic zone is still popularly, though
erroneously, called a coastal nation's territorial waters.
 Continental shelf
• Definition[edit]
• Article 76[4] gives the legal definition of continental shelf of coastal
countries. For the physical geography definition, see the continental
shelf page.
• The continental shelf of a coastal nation extends out to the outer
edge of the continental margin but at least 200 nautical miles
(370 km; 230 mi) from the baselines of the territorial sea if the
continental margin does not stretch that far.
• The outer limit of a country's continental shelf shall not stretch
beyond 350 nautical miles (650 km; 400 mi) of the baseline, or
beyond 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) from the 2,500 metres
(8,200 ft) isobath, which is a line connecting the depths of the
seabed at 2,500 meters.
 Continental shelf
• The outer edge of the continental margin for the
purposes of this article is defined as:
• a series of lines joining points not more than 60
nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) apart where the
thickness of sedimentary rocks is at least 1% of the
height of the continental shelf above the foot of the
continental slope; or
• a series of lines joining points not more than 60
nautical miles apart that is not more than 60 nautical
miles from the foot of the continental margin.
• The foot of the continental slope is determined as the
point of maximum change in the gradient at its base.
 Continental shelf
• The portion of the continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical mile limit is also
known as the extended continental shelf.
• Countries wishing to delimit their outer continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles
have to submit information on their claim to the Commission on the Limits of the
Continental Shelf.
• The Commission must make recommendations on matters related to the
establishment of the outer limits of their continental shelf.
• The limits established based on these recommendations shall be final and binding.
• Countries were supposed to lodge their submissions to extend their continental
shelf beyond 200 nautical miles within ten years of UNCLOS coming into force in
the country,
• or by 13 May 2009 for countries where the convention had come into force before
13 May 1999.
• As of 1 June 2009, 51 submissions have been lodged with the Commission, of which
eight have been deliberated by the Commission and have had recommendations
issued.
• The eight are (in the order of date of submission): Russian Federation; Brazil;
Australia; Ireland; New Zealand; the joint submission by France, Ireland, Spain and
the United Kingdom; Norway and Mexico.
 Rights over the continental shelf
• Articles 77 to 81 define the rights of a country over its
continental shelf.
• A coastal nation has control of all resources on or
under its continental shelf, living or not, but no control
over any living organisms above the shelf that are
beyond its exclusive economic zone.
• This gives it the right to conduct petroleum drilling
works and lay submarine cables or pipelines in its
continental shelf.
• An example of this is the ongoing dispute
over resources in the Arctic area, which will be decided
by the exact mapping of the continental shelves.
 Background
• From the eighteenth century until the mid twentieth century, the
territorial waters of the British Empire, the United States, France and
many other nations were three nautical miles (5.6 km) wide.
• Originally, this was the length of a cannon shot, hence the portion of an
ocean that a sovereign state could defend from shore.
• However, Iceland claimed two nautical miles
(3.7 km), Norway and Sweden claimed four nautical miles (7.4 km),
and Spain claimed 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) during this period.
• During incidents such as nuclear weapons testing and fisheries disputes
some nations arbitrarily extended their maritime claims to as much as fifty
or even two hundred nautical miles.
• Since the late 20th century the "12 mile limit" has become almost
universally accepted.
• The United Kingdom extended its territorial waters from three to twelve
nautical miles (22 km) in 1987.
 Background
• Territorial waters claims by coastal states in 1960
[5]

• Breadth claim Number of states

• 3-mile limit 26
• 4-mile limit 3
• 5-mile limit 1
• 6-mile limit 16
• 9-mile limit 1
• 10-mile limit 2
• 12-mile limit 34
• More than 12-miles 9
• Unspecified 11
 Background
• During the League of Nations Codification Conference in 1930, the issue of
establishing international legislation on territorial waters was raised, but no
agreement was reached.[6]
• Claims by legislation to the adjacent continental shelf and fishing was first made by
the United States government immediately following the Second World War. On
September 28, 1945, US President Harry S. Truman issued two proclamations that
established government control of natural resources in areas adjacent to the
coastline. One of these proclamation was titled "Policy of the United States With
Respect to the Natural Resources of the Subsoil and Sea Bed of the Continental
Shelf", and stipulated in its operative clause:
• the Government of the United States regards the natural resources of the subsoil
and sea bed of the continental shelf beneath the high seas but contiguous to the
coasts of the United States as appertaining to the United States, subject to its
jurisdiction and control.[7]
• The second proclamation was titled "Policy of the United States With Respect to
Coastal Fisheries in Certain Areas of the High Seas", and stated in its operative
clause:
• the Government of the United States regards it as proper to establish conservation
zones in those areas of the high seas contiguous to the coasts of the United States
wherein fishing activities have been or in the future may be developed and
maintained on a substantial scale.[8]
 Background
• Following the US Presidential proclamation, the issue of legally
determining territorial waters by international agreement was
raised, and in its first session in 1949, the International Law
Commission of the United Nations added the subject to its agenda.
• The important issue of the breadth of territorial waters could not
be resolved at either the UNCLOS I (1956-1958) or UNCLOS II (1960)
conferences, with neither the two major contenders of a 3-mile or
12-mile limit reaching the required two-thirds support.
• This lack of agreement had the potential to lead to serious
international disputes.[5]
• It was only at the UNCLOS III (1973-1982) conference, whose
provisions did not come into force until 1994, that this issue was
resolved at twelve nautical miles.