1 Historical Development of the Law of the Sea

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Treves Tullio
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
The Third ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historic Development ◽  
The Law ◽  
Early Phases

This chapter highlights, in the historic development of the law of the sea, the roots of the law as it currently stands and the questions still open today. It considers the early phases of the evolution of the law of the sea up to the end of the nineteenth century followed by, in more detail, developments that took place in the twentieth century up until the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. This fundamental event in the history of the law of the sea in the twentieth century is the basis of the international law of the sea of today, and is dealt with in subsequent chapters of this Handbook.

The law of the sea and the deep seabed

1978 ◽  
Vol 290 (1366) ◽  
pp. 21-31
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
International Agreement ◽  
Exploration And Exploitation ◽  
The Third ◽  
Sea Bed ◽  
The Law ◽  
Work Done

It is the object of the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea to obtain broad international agreement on the limits to the territorial sea, on that area beyond these limits within which the coastal state may exercise rights over living and non-living resources and on the nature and manner of exercise of those rights. The Conference is also required to establish an international regime to deal with the exploration and exploitation of the deep seabed beyond the limits of coastal states’ rights. The work done by the Conference in five sessions since 1973 will have its effect on international law and practice but, partly owing to differences between the view-points of less industrialized and the more industrialized states (not confined to marine matters), the global solution essential for the orderly regulation of movement of shipping, scientific research and development of fisheries and sea-bed mineral resources may yet elude the Conference, to the detriment of the participating states and of the international community as a whole.

scholarly journals The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea: the 1976 New York Sessions

1977 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard H. Oxman
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
The Third ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
State Practice ◽  
The Law

The law of the sea has changed, for good or for ill. The Revised Single Negotiating Text (hereinafter RSNT) issued in the spring of 1976 may prove to be the single most important document regarding the law of the sea since the 1958 Geneva Conventions in terms of its influence on state practice, whether by way of an ultimate treaty or otherwise. Important differences will exist regarding the extent to which portions of the text are declaratory of emerging customary international law and regarding the extent to which the text must be changed to be acceptable as a universal treaty or as customary law. Indeed, difficult questions of implementation of its principles in bilateral and other arrangements are already arising. Positions taken at multilateral conferences may differ from the positions taken in other contexts. But the text will not be ignored.

Declarations, Statements and ‘Disguised Reservations’ with Respect to the Convention on the Law of the Sea

2001 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 767-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. D. M. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Law ◽  
The One

The question of reservations was one of the ‘controversial issues’ facing the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea in drawing up the final clauses of the Convention. On the one hand it was argued that the integrity of the Convention must be safeguarded and that the ‘package deal’ must be protected from possible disintegration by the making of reservations. On the other hand the view was held that ‘allowance for the possibility of reservations is aimed at accommodating the views of the delegations who have maintained that they cannot become parties to the Convention unless the Convention permits them to exercise a right to enter reservations, in accordance with customary international law and as envisaged under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.’ In short the need to preserve the integrity of the Convention was pitted against the need to secure universal participation in the Convention.

The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea

1976 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabtai Rosenne
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Special Rapporteur ◽  
Priority List ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Law ◽  
High Seas

This article is divided into four parts. The first aims to place the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea in its historical context. The second describes some aspects of the first three sessions of that Conference (1973–1975). In the third an account of major specific interests and conflicts which have appeared in this Conference is given. Finally, some tentative conclusions are drawn—tentative, because the Conference has not yet completed its labours.During its first session (1949) the newly established International Law Commission, set up by the General Assembly in accordance with the provision of Article 13 of the Charter relating to the codification and progressive development of international law, included the topics of the régime of the high seas and the régime of territorial waters in its provisional list of fourteen topics selected for codification. It placed the régime of the high seas on its priority list, and appointed Professor J.P.A. François (The Netherlands) as special rapporteur. At the recommendation of the General Assembly in resolution 374 (IV) of 6 December 1949 the Commission in 1950 included the régime of territorial waters on its priority list, and in 1951 it initiated work on that topic, for which Professor François was also designated special rapporteur. The Commission was heavily occupied with both these topics until 1956.

scholarly journals China and the UNCLOS: Practices and Policies

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinmin Ma
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
International Tribunal ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Comprehensive Compilation ◽  
The Unclos

Abstract The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS or the Convention) is one of the most important accomplishments in the development of international law in the twentieth century. As a comprehensive compilation of the modern law of the sea, the UNCLOS not only codifies numerous customary rules of law of the sea, but also progressively develops the treaty rules of law of the sea. Especially the three bodies established by the UNCLOS, namely the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), have played an important role in facilitating the implementation of the UNCLOS and promoting stability and development of the international marine order. As a member of the big family of the States Parties to the UNCLOS, China has been faithfully fulfilling the obligations of the UNCLOS, fully engaged in the work of the three bodies and actively contributing its solutions and wisdom. In the process of implementing the UNCLOS, China has formed its own practices and policies.

scholarly journals JUDICIAL UNCERTAINTIES CONCERNING TERRITORIAL SEA DELIMITATION UNDER ARTICLE 15 OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 589-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Lando
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Considerable Uncertainty ◽  
History Of ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
International Tribunals ◽  
The Law ◽  
Special Circumstances

AbstractRecent international jurisprudence has shown considerable uncertainty with regard to the delimitation of the territorial sea. While international tribunals endorse a two-stage approach to territorial sea delimitation, there is a lack of judicial consensus on the practical implementation of such an approach. This article argues that the rule-exception relationship between equidistance and special circumstances, as reflected in the drafting history of LOSC Article 15 and in jurisprudence prior to 2007, should inform the delimitation of the territorial sea. Cases since 2007 which have strayed from the earlier jurisprudence on LOSC Article 15, should be seen as a misconstruction of the law applicable to territorial sea delimitation.

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