The Marine Environment Protection Committee: The Conjunction of the Law of the Sea and International Environmental Law

2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise de La Fayette
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Environment Protection ◽  
Agenda 21 ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
Multilateral Environmental Agreements ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law

AbstractThis article outlines the work of the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization in implementing measures to protect the marine environment and to conserve natural resources called for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international environmental law, in particular as set forth in Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration, both products of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. In so doing, the paper examines IMO's collaboration with other intergovernmental organisations and UN bodies, such as the FAO, UNEP, the Commission on Sustainable Development and the United Nations, as well as with the secretariats of multilateral environmental agreements, such as the Basel Convention and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Although the work of IMO is frequently overlooked because it is an older organisation, the treaties, codes and guidelines developed by the MEPC have made an essential and valuable contribution to the progressive development of international environmental law, as well as to the law of the sea.

scholarly journals Prompt Release of Detained Foreign Vessels and Crews in Matters of Marine Environment Protection

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heiki Lindpere
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Financial Security ◽  
Environment Protection ◽  
International Tribunal ◽  
State Party ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
Flag State

Article 292 of the United Nations 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (Convention) reads:1. Where the authorities of a state party have detained a vessel flying the flag of another state party and it is alleged that the detaining state has not complied with the provisions of this Convention for the prompt release of the vessel or its crew upon posting of a reasonable bond or other financial security, the question of release from detention may be submitted to any court or tribunal agreed upon by the parties or, failing such agreement within 10 days from the time of detention, to a court or tribunal accepted by the detaining state under article 287 or to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, unless the parties otherwise agree.2. The application for release may be made only by or on behalf of the flag state of the vessel.3. The court or tribunal shall deal without delay with the application for release and shall deal only with the question of release, without prejudice to the merits of any case before the appropriate domestic forum against the vessel, its owner or its crew. The authorities of the detaining state remain competent to release the vessel or its crew at any time.4. Upon the posting of the bond or other financial security determined by the court or tribunal, the authorities of the detaining state shall comply promptly with the decision of the court or tribunal concerning the release of the vessel or its crew.

The Freedom to Use the High Seas to Protect and Preserve the Marine Environment: Case Study of the Activities of The Ocean Cleanup

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Talitha Ramphal
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Marine Debris ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
High Seas

Abstract Activities to tackle marine debris are conducted on the high seas by The Ocean Cleanup. The high seas are open to all States and may be used as long this is consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) and other rules of international law. This article argues that the LOSC provides for the freedom to use the high seas to protect and preserve the marine environment, including tackling marine debris, when interpreting Article 87 of the LOSC in light of present day needs.

scholarly journals Developments in International Law of the Sea in the Light of Some Recent Judicial Decisions

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Klein ◽  
Tiến Vinh Nguyễn
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Judicial Decisions ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law

This paper summarizes and analyzes the new developments in international law of the sea through a number of recent international cases, particularly through the Arbitration's Award in the Philippinesv. China Case over the East Sea. These developments include those releated to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, the scope and basis of national rights to defferent maritime zones; Maritime delimitation; the important role of agreement in maritime delimitation and the signification of equitable and faire outcome; The rights and obligations of the State in the protection of the marine environment. Through its analysis and assessment, the article also confirms the central role of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, called the "Charter of the Sea and Oceans"

scholarly journals International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007. – a New Contribution to the Safety of Navigation and Marine Environment Protection

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-55
Author(s):  
Ranka Petrinović ◽  
Vesna Skorupan Wolff ◽  
Nikola Mandić ◽  
Bisera Plančić
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
United Nation Convention ◽  
International Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Economic Zones

The text of the International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks was finally adopted at the International Conference held from 14 to 18 May, 2007 in the United Nations Office at Nairobi in Kenya (UNON). The Convention shall enter into force twelve months after having been signed and approved by ten States. The new Convention will provide a legal frame for the States Parties in removing existing and future wrecks located beyond the territorial sea (within their sovereign rights). First of all it is the exclusive economic zone which we discuss in the paper, or if a state has not established the Zone, it is the territory just beyond the territorial seas which extends not more than 200 NM from the starting lines for determining the size of territorial seas. Although the number of maritime accidents has been reduced recently, it has been estimated that there are more than 1 300 abandoned wrecks around the world today that pose potential hazards to safe navigation, utilization of the living resources, as well as to the marine environment. In accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Republic of Croatia established Protected Ecological and Fishing Zone comprising sovereign rights characteristic for exclusive economic zones such as sovereign right of researching, utilization and conservation of the living resources beyond the outer borders of the territorial sea, as well as their management, and the jurisdiction with regard to the scientific research of the sea and protection and preservation of the marine environment. The Adriatic Sea falls into the category of closed or semi-closed seas by the definition of the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea, and therefore if compared with larger seas, the consequences of pollution would be much greater due to its small size. That is why the adoption of the Convention on the Removal of Wrecks is of great importance to Croatia. The provisions of the Convention oblige the master and the operator of a ship to notify the endangered state party immediately about the accident which may cause a shipwreck, and the state must inform the mariners and other coastal states about the hazard posed by wrecks. The most important fact is that the Convention requires compulsory security for vessels of 300BT. The vessels of 300 BT are obliged to have the certificate of insurance, or some other financial security as a cover for owner’s liability for the damage caused by the removal of the wreck.

The Contribution of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to the Protection of the Marine Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 354-369
Author(s):  
Tomas Heidar
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
International Tribunal ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
Precautionary Approach ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessments ◽  
The Law

Abstract In its 25 years’ history, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea has dealt with a number of environmental cases. This has primarily occurred in the context of proceedings relating to the prescription of provisional measures and in advisory proceedings. This article explains how the Tribunal has reaffirmed and developed the basic environmental principles in Part XII of the Law of the Sea Convention, including the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment, the precautionary approach, the duty to conduct environmental impact assessments, and the duty to cooperate, as well as the duty of due diligence, thereby contributing to the protection of the marine environment. Part XII of the Convention is a product of the 1970s and its provisions therefore reflect the state of international environmental law at that time. However, the Tribunal has interpreted and applied the aforementioned principles consistently with the contemporary state of international environmental law.

2 The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harrison James
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Marine Environmental Protection ◽  
History Of ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law

Chapter 2 examines the way in which marine environmental protection is addressed in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS sets out the jurisdictional framework for the law of the sea and prescribes general principles and rules relating to pollution of the marine environment and the sustainable use of marine living resources. The chapter considers the drafting history of UNCLOS. It explores the range of substantive and procedural rules on the protection of the marine environment, as well as how those provisions have been interpreted in recent judicial or arbitral proceedings. The chapter argues that UNCLOS provides a basic layer of protection for the marine environment but it also foresees the subsequent development of environmental rules and standards that are more detailed. Thus, UNCLOS should be understood as an umbrella convention that must read in light of other treaties and related instruments.

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