Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Camille Goodman
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Legal Effect ◽  
State Practice ◽  
Balance Of Interests ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The Law ◽  
Unique Context

This Chapter outlines the context, objective, and scope of the book, and examines two foundational issues that anchor its law of the sea enquiry firmly within the doctrinal and methodological context of general international law. First, it considers the international law concept of ‘jurisdiction’ and examines its role and application under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in general, and in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in particular. It explores the idea of jurisdiction as a ‘continuum’ of prohibitions, rights, and obligations pursuant to which a State may be obliged, authorized but not required, or prohibited from exercising authority in relation to a person or activity, and considers the balance of interests in the sui generis regime that underpins the jurisdictional continuum of the EEZ. Second, it examines the potential legal effects of subsequent State practice in the law of the sea. It describes the conceptual framework that underlies the book’s widespread examination of State practice and explains how the relevant rules of international law apply to evaluate the legal effect of State practice under treaty law and customary international law in the unique context of the law of the sea. The Chapter outlines the parameters used to determine and analyse the State practice examined in the book, and concludes with an overview of the structure and chapter content.

scholarly journals Historic Rights in African State Practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-188
Author(s):  
Edwin Egede
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
African State ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
State Party ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
State Practice ◽  
Dash Line ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The Law

Abstract Historic rights in the law of the sea has been given prominence since the publication by China of the so-called nine-dash line map. Certain States have challenged this claim as inconsistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to which China is a State Party. On the other hand, it has been argued that although historic rights claims are not comprehensively regulated by the UNCLOS they are actually governed by the principles of general international law. Consequently, this would require establishing if there is a general and consistent practice of States followed by them from a sense of legal obligation which establish historic rights claims are consistent with Customary International Law. This article explores the State Practice of African States in order to determine whether these States acknowledge and recognize historic rights claims as consistent with contemporary law of the sea.

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.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
John-Pierre Levy
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
World Organization

When the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the Convention) was adopted in 1982 after nine years of negotiations, it was hailed as "the ultimate constitution for the oceans". For the first time, an international legal instrument acknowledges that "the problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and need to be considered as a whole". Accordingly, in 320 articles and 9 annexes, the treaty provides the international legal framework for exercising the rights and duties of States relating to their uses of ocean space and its resources. After substantially amending the part dealing with the deep seabed area and its resources by the Agreement of 28 July 1994, the Convention entered into force on 16 November 1994 for those States which deposited instruments of ratification. It is now strongly supported by a significant majority of the States of the world, including major maritime powers, developing states, and others. The Convention codifies and develops customary international law as well as creating new rules and institutions. In some respects, the Convention provides specific rules and, in other respects, more general rules, whose precise meaning will evolve through practice. The Convention provides at minimum a framework for all uses of the sea. It envisages other international agreements, bilateral and multilateral, to elaborate its implementation. In spite of the breadth of the subject matter, the practice of States generally conforms to the law of the sea embodied in the Convention. The international community rightly feels proud of its achievement. But international law (and the law of the sea in particular) is a reflection of the needs of States during a certain period in history and their expectations of the future. This Convention does not necessarily contain the answers to all the challenges awaiting humankind in the 21st century, but it provides a sound framework for addressing them. Before examining in depth the issues relating to the delimitation of the outer limit of the continental shelf, a brief review of the major features of the Convention is appropriate. In the aftermath of World War II and soon after the creation of the United Nations in 1945, the new world organization requested its International Law Commission to consider the codification of existing customary international law relating to the oceans.

2 The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Churchill Robin R
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Legal Nature ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) is the most important source of the international law of the sea. This chapter discusses the history and legal characteristics of the LOSC. It explains how the LOSC came into being; gives a brief overview of its provisions and considers their varying legal nature; explains which entities may and have become parties to the LOSC and considers the extent to which they are permitted to make reservations and declarations; outlines the relationship of the LOSC to other treaties and customary international law; explores the mechanisms for seeking to ensure compliance with the LOSC by its States parties; and finally discusses how the LOSC is kept under review and developed.

Arigo and Others v. Swift and Others

2021 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 295-373
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Restricted Area ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The Law

295State immunity — United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 — Articles 30, 31 and 32 — Rules applicable to warships — Non-compliance by warships with laws and regulations of coastal State — United States vessel entering restricted area of Philippine waters — Responsibility of flag State for damage caused by warship — Immunities of warships — Philippines–United States of America Visiting Forces Agreement, 1998 — Whether any waiver of immunity — Role of executiveSea — Treaties — United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea — Convention not ratified by United States — Customary international law — Coastal State rights — Marine environment — Whether relevant provisions of treaty codifying customary international law — Whether United States responsible for environmental damage — Whether United States immune from suitJurisdiction — United States vessel entering restricted area of Philippine waters — Whether act jure imperii — Environmental damage — Whether United States having immunity — Whether Philippines barred from exercising jurisdiction over United States respondents — Article XVI of Philippines Constitution, 1987Environment — Marine environment — Right to a healthful ecology — Intergenerational responsibility — Writ of Kalikasan — The law of the Philippines

La zone économique exclusive dans la pratique des États

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 3-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Rigaldies
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Judicial Decisions ◽  
State Practice ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law

SummaryThe use of the concept of an exclusive Economie zone has increased since the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, the characterization of this zone varies greatly between States. This article presents an exhaustive survey of the concept of an exclusive Economie zone. The author discusses the types of jurisdiction exercised by States in their uses of an exclusive Economie zone. Disparity exists between the provisions of the Convention and State practice in some specific areas: for example, the provisions on the environment and on scientific research. Despite these exceptions, the author maintains that the basic tenets of the Convention are respected in State practice. State declarations as well as arbitral and judicial decisions show that the Convention and State practice are together evolving to reinforce the basic principles of the concept of an exclusive Economie zone.

International Fisheries Law

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentin J. Schatz ◽  
Arron N. Honniball
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
Fisheries Law ◽  
Conservation And Management ◽  
International Fisheries

International fisheries law is a broad field of international law within which significant state practice, instruments, and relevant fora are found at the global, regional, subregional, bilateral, and national level. For the purposes of this bibliography, the analysis of international fisheries law is limited to the law governing marine capture fisheries (other fisheries law definitions may include the regulation of aquaculture or inland fisheries). This bibliography also primarily approaches fisheries law as a matter of fisheries conservation and management under the international law of the sea. The two main treaties of global application which reflect its foundational framework are the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the United Nations Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (UNFSA). As a starting point, one should consult the maritime zones established under UNCLOS and customary law, whereby the distribution of rights and obligations among the various capacities of states differs per maritime zone. As fish do not respect legal boundaries, special rules of international law that emphasize cooperation and management between states must be adopted and adapted for shared fish stocks such as transboundary fish stocks, straddling fish stocks, and highly migratory fish stocks. In addition, various treaties of global application dealing with specific issues exist, such as the 1993 Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas (Compliance Agreement) and, most recently, the 2009 Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA). This global treaty framework is complemented by various global non–legally binding instruments, most of which were adopted under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). On the regional level, countless multilateral and bilateral fisheries treaties have been concluded, and the field remains highly dynamic. Notably, many fisheries are nowadays managed by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations and Arrangements (RFMO/As) or bilateral fisheries commissions. As a thematically defined field of law, international fisheries law is not restricted to the rules governing conservation and management of marine fisheries, but may equally raise, among other issues, questions of general international law of the sea such as jurisdiction and maritime law enforcement operations, international environmental law, international trade law, international human rights law, and international dispute settlement.

Rethinking the Concept of Historic Rights in International Law

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-165
Author(s):  
Ying Wang
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Maritime Boundary ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
Maritime Boundary Delimitation

Abstract Historic rights have been acknowledged by international legislation including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, although many issues concerning the concept still remain uncertain. This article will mainly discuss the legal connotation and juridical functions of the concept of ‘historic rights’ for maritime entitlements and maritime boundary delimitation, and attempt to clarify some legal ambiguity and explain the function of the legal regime through analysis of legal documents and identification of typical difficulties in the application of the concept of ‘historic rights’.

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