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The Hague Codification Conference of 1930 UNCLOS I 1958 UNCLOS II 1960 UNCLOS III 1973-1982
Maritime areas:
Baselines Territorial Sea Contiguous Zone Exclusive Economic Zone Continental Shelf High Seas The Area Archipelagic Waters International Straits
Delimitation of Maritime Areas The Sea-Bed Authority Protection of the Marine Environment Settlement of Disputes Supplementary Reading
1494 Treaty of Tordesillas 1774 Russia Turkey on Perpetual Peace and Amity 1815 Act of the Congress of Vienna 1884 Paris Convention for the Protection of Submarine Cables 1888 Convention on the Free Navigation of the Suez Canal 1903 Panama USA Convention for the Construction of a Ship Canal 1907 Convention concerning the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers in Naval Warfare 1907 Convention relative to the Laying of Automatic Submarine Contact Mines 1910 Brussels Convention for the Unification of certain Rules relating to Assistance and Salvage at Sea 1923 Geneva Convention and Statute on the Regime of Maritime Ports
UNCLOS I, Geneva 1958 Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone Convention on the Continental Shelf Convention on the High Seas Convention on the Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas
UNCLOS III 1973-1982 UNCLOS III experience has been described as the largest, most technically complex, continuous negotiation attempted in modern times (R.L. Friedheim). UNCLOS III negotiated on the basis of consensus, as a package deal with the understanding that no reservations to the Convention be permitted. On April 30 1982 The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted by voting. 130 states voted in favour, 4 against (USA, Israel, Turkey and Venezuela) and 17 abstained.
1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Law of the Sea Convention was signed by 117 states on December 10, 1982 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The Convention entered into force in on November 16, 1994 after being ratified by 60 states. The Convention consists of 17 parts with 320 articles and 9 annexes The Convention is a comprehensive code of rules of international law on the sea. The greater part of the Convention reflects already existing customary and conventional (1958 Conventions) law of the sea. However, much of the previous law was thereby changed and many new rules introduced.
Baselines
Normal baseline (Article 5) The normal baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea is the low water line along the coast as marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the coastal State. Straight baselines (Article 7) In localities where the coastline is deeply indented and cut into, or if there is a fringe of islands along the coast in its immediate vicinity, the method of straight baselines joining appropriate points may be employed in drawing the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. Combination of methods for determining baselines (Article 14) The coastal State may determine baselines in turn by any of the methods provided for in the foregoing articles to suit different conditions.
Internal Waters
Internal waters (Article 8) Waters on the landward side of the baseline of the territorial sea form part of the internal waters of the State. Bays (Article10) For the purposes of this Convention, a bay is 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. Where the distance between the low-water marks of the natural entrance points of a bay exceeds 24 nautical miles, a straight baseline of 24 nautical miles shall be drawn within the bay in such a manner as to enclose the maximum area of water that is possible with a line of that length.
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 3) 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 (Article 4)
Territorial Sea
Contiguous Zone
Contiguous zone (Article33) In a zone contiguous to its territorial sea, described as the contiguous zone, the coastal State may exercise the control necessary to: (a) prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea; (b) punish infringement of the above laws and regulations committed within its territory or territorial sea. The contiguous zone may not extend beyond 24 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.
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 outer limit of the continental shelf shall not exceed 350 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.
High Seas
High seas regime applies in all parts of the sea that are not included in the exclusive economic zone, in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a State, or in the archipelagic waters of an archipelagic State The high seas are open to all States, whether coastal or land-locked. It comprises, inter alia, both for coastal and land-locked States: (a) freedom of navigation; (b) freedom of overflight; (c) freedom to lay submarine cables and pipelines; (d) freedom to construct artificial islands and other installations permitted under international law; (e) freedom of fishing; (f) freedom of scientific research.
The Area
The Area and its resources are the common heritage of mankind (Article 136) No State shall claim or exercise sovereignty or sovereign rights over any part of the Area or its resources, nor shall any State or natural or juridical person appropriate any part thereof. No such claim or exercise of sovereignty or sovereign rights nor such appropriation shall be recognized. All rights in the resources of the Area are vested in mankind as a whole, on whose behalf the Authority shall act.
Archipelagic States
"archipelagic State" means a State constituted wholly by one or more archipelagos and may include other islands (Indonesia, for instance, consists of 17 508 islands); "archipelago" means a group of islands, including parts of islands. An archipelagic State may draw straight archipelagic baselines joining the outermost points of the outermost islands of the archipelago provided that within such baselines are included the main islands and an area in which the ratio of the area of the water to the area of the land, including atolls, is between 1 to 1 and 9 to 1. The length of such baselines shall, in principle, not exceed 100 nautical miles. The breadth of the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf shall be measured from archipelagic baselines.
Archipelagic States
Archipelagic States