Law of the Land, Law of the Sea: The Lost Link Between Customary International Law and The General Maritime Law

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Bederman
2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 704-739
Author(s):  
Xuexia Liao

Abstract This article revisits the package deal nature of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) and its implications for determining customary international law. A survey of the case law illustrates that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has not given particular weight to the fact that the LOSC was negotiated and accepted as a package deal. Nevertheless, the ICJ’s declaration that Article 121, paragraph 3 of the LOSC is a customary rule tends to be based on a ‘package deal approach’, which focuses on the textual and logical links between the paragraphs that manifest an ‘indivisible régime’. By exploring the difficulties of determining the customary status of Article 76(2)–(7) concerning the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, which may arise in the pending Nicaragua v. Colombia II case, this article calls for a cautious attitude towards determination of customary rules from the LOSC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-188
Author(s):  
Edwin Egede

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.


1977 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard H. Oxman

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.


2001 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 767-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. D. M. Nelson

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.


Author(s):  
von Heinegg Wolff Heintschel

This contribution discusses the 1968 USS Pueblo Incident by assessing the factual background on the basis of available documents and by providing a legal analysis on the basis of the then applicable international law. In view of the contentious issue of the USS Pueblo’s location at the time of the attack and her seizure by the armed forces of the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, the discussion of the legal issues at stake is not limited to the ius ad bellum but must be extended to the law of the sea, in particular the breadth of the territorial sea according to customary international law recognized in 1968 and the status of foreign warships. As regards the ius ad bellum, the unjustified use of force against a sovereign immune warship is considered an armed attack triggering the flag state’s right of self-defence.


Author(s):  
Bill Gilmore

This chapter examines the doctrine of ‘hot pursuit’ used by the state to exercise its coercive powers beyond national territory for law enforcement purposes. It discusses hot pursuit by sea, land, and air in the context of international law, particularly with respect to self-defence and reprisal. Whilst hot pursuit is well recognized in the customary international law of the sea, it has yet to achieve that form of normative recognition in relation to pursuit on land or by air. The chapter considers the debate over hot pursuit as a legal justification for cross-border military incursions independent of the right of self-defence and describes the concept of extended constructive presence before concluding with an analysis of hot pursuit in a use of force context.


Author(s):  
Pavliha Marko

This chapter examines the role of ethics in international maritime law and ocean governance. It first considers the general ethical flavour of international law, giving a few examples of moral standards in the law of the sea and maritime law, before discussing a range of issues relating to ocean governance. It suggests that the phrase ‘international maritime law’ should be understood broadly as inspired by the International Maritime Organization’s International Maritime Law Institute (IMO IMLI), thus including the law of the sea as part of public international law and the maritime law, also known as shipping, admiralty or marine law. The chapter goes on to outline actions aimed at conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Finally, it offers recommendations on how to improve legal education with an obligatory course on legal ethics.


Author(s):  
Vrancken Patrick

This chapter discusses issues of global ocean governance from an African perspective. It first provides an overview of the historical lack of engagement by Africa in the 400-year long evolution of the customary international law of the sea before considering its belated entry into the international negotiation process that yielded the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It then describes the developing institutional framework for African ocean governance, focusing on the African Union and its areas of competence, along with the different African regional arrangements that have been established to address maritime issues ranging from natural environmental protection and sustainable marine resource development, to maritime transport safety and security. It also examines Africa's contribution to global ocean governance framework and concludes with an assessment of the Combined Exclusive Maritime Zone of Africa (CEMZA) proposal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-190
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Cataldi

This article analyzes the Enrica Lexie Arbitral Award, first of all, in relation to international law issues concerning the application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The article then focuses on the question of the functional immunity of the two marines, from the point of view of the Tribunal’s assertion of its incidental jurisdiction to deal with the matter, as well as of the Tribunal’s affirmation of the existence of a customary international law rule applicable in the present case. Both conclusions appear unconvincing, also in light of the role of the two marines on board a merchant ship. In any case, the fact remains that the judgment has the merit of finally putting an end to a long-standing dispute, to the satisfaction of the two parties involved.


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