Regional Cooperation in the North Sea under Part ix of the Law of the Sea Convention

The importance of the North Sea is emphasised by the recent House of Lords report on maritime cooperation there. This prompts a consideration of the international legal principles underpinning such cooperation, as well as a description of the means by which the North Sea States have given practical effect to this cooperation, particularly in relation to living resources and the marine environment.

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29 North-East Atlantic and the North Sea

10.1093/law/9780198715481.003.0029 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Long Ronán

Keyword(s):

North Sea ◽

Law Of The Sea ◽

East Atlantic ◽

Political Factors ◽

Basic Principles ◽

North East ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea ◽

The Law ◽

The Uk

This chapter assesses the legal regime of the North-East Atlantic and the North Sea. It begins by discussing some of the geographical, economic, environmental, strategic, and geo-political factors that are shaping the very distinctive regional regimes that give effect to the basic principles, as well as to many of the substantive provisions embodied in the UN Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) and related agreements. It provides a summary of the various maritime jurisdictional zones and boundaries claimed by the twelve coastal States that make-up the region: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. This is followed by a description of some of the principal regional bodies responsible for formulating and implementing various aspects of the law of the sea, including the regional seas environmental body, the EU and several fisheries management organizations.

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Offshore Claims and Problems in the North Sea

The American Journal of International Law ◽

10.2307/2196753 ◽

1965 ◽

Vol 59 (3) ◽

pp. 505-522 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Richard Young

Keyword(s):

North Sea ◽

Large Scale ◽

Geneva Convention ◽

Legal Principles ◽

The North ◽

Legal Problems ◽

The North Sea ◽

The Subject ◽

First Time ◽

Economic Considerations

The possible presence of very large petroleum and natural gas reserves in the area beneath the North Sea is currently the subject of intense investigation. If confirmed, as seems likely in at least some localities, this occurrence will raise legal problems of considerable interest and complexity. For the North Sea is not merely an oilfield covered by water: for centuries it has been one of the world's major fishery regions and the avenue to and from the world's busiest seaports. Thus all three of the present principal uses of the sea—fishing, navigation, and the exploitation of submarine resources—promise to meet for the first time on a large scale in an area where all are of major importance. The process of reconciling the various interests at stake will provide the first thoroughgoing test of the adequacy and acceptability of the general principles laid down in the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf and should add greatly to the practice and precedents available in this developing branch of the law. In the present article an attempt is made to review some of the geographical and economic considerations involved in the North Sea situation, to note some of the technical and legal developments that have already taken place, and to consider these elements in the light of the various interests and legal principles concerned.

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