Unclos marine environment article 192 general obligation states have the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment. Verzijl memorial symposium that took place at utrecht university in november 2008, i had a general idea of the challenges that would come along with the process of editing such a. Legal status of the territorial sea, of the air space over the territorial sea and of its bed and. Legal status of the territorial sea, of the air space over the territorial sea and of its bed and subsoil. Freedom of navigation following the mv norstar case. Statoil estimated that this discovery is between 300 and 600 million barrels of recoverable oil. Source document contributed to documentcloud by will colson center for strategic and international studies. Compulsory dispute settlement and conciliation under unclos. Unclos and article 76 the united nations convention on the law of the sea unclos defines the different maritime zones and regulates marine sovereignty rights and rights of use, among others. This paper will analyze the specific legal regime in part v of unclos to determine whether it has created a certain and predictable regime which has withstood the test of time.
United nations convention on the law of the sea unclos montego bay, 10 december 1982 preamble part i. Muna almarzouqi will likely reach a similar conclusion in a forthcoming article, discussed. Articles concerning the law of the sea with commentaries, 1956. Contrary to italys argument, even when enforcement is. Article 300 simply covers the government of india and the government of a state with legal personality. Reflections on the interpretation and application of. Arbitration is the appropriate dispute settlement procedure because the united kingdom submitted a declaration under unclos article 2871 choosing the international court of justice as the means for dispute settlement, but mauritius made no declaration under unclos article 2871 and is thus deemed by unclos article 2873 to have accepted annex vii.
Subsequent to the adoption of the 1958 conventions on the law of the sea, at the first united nations conference on the law of the sea, the general assembly requested the secretarygeneral to convene a second united nations conference on the law of the sea to consider the topics of the breadth of the territorial sea and fishery limits, which had not been agreed upon in the said. The sovereignty of a state extends to a belt of sea adjacent to its coast, described as the territorial sea. Mauritius brings law of the sea arbitration against the. The host of losc articles apparently breached by india, as per italys claim, includes article 92 on the exclusive jurisdiction of flag states. The law of the sea convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with. The legality of foreign military activities in the. The juridical continental shelf of a coastal state comprises the submerged natural prolongation of its land territory, and consists of the seabed and. Mauritius brings unclos arbitration against the united. Selected preparatory documents in chronological order. International character of the secretariat 90 article 169. Introduction the chagos archipelago, which dots the heart of the indian ocean, is in the middle of a very 21st century international dispute. The states parties to this convention, prompted by the desire to settle, in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation, all issues relating to the law of the sea and aware of the historic significance of this convention as an important contribution to the maintenance of peace, justice and progress for all peoples of the world.
The nclos blog the blog of the norwegian centre for the. Rights and duties of other states in the exclusive economic zone 40 article 59. Pdf declarations and statements with respect to the 1982. This sovereignty is exercised subject to the conditions prescribed in these articles and by other rules of international law. The view that article 82 was a discrete quid pro quo for including areas beyond 200 nautical miles in the definition of the continental shelf in article 76 of the conventionthat article 82 was part of a bargain that can be separated from unclos as a wholefundamentally disregards the accepted view that the package deal was the. Different interpretations of article 234 will be scrutinized from different perspectives. Report of the international law commission on the work of its first session acn. What were the real reasons for the haste in declaring the mpa.
Printmauritius brings law of the sea arbitration against the united kingdom this article was originally published by the american society of international law and is reprinted here by permission. Abuse of rights article 300 wikileaks cable note the 2014 english court of appeal decision that dealt with the admissibility of the cable and crossexamination regarding it. The rule of law in the seas of asia navigational chart. Article 208 of unclos and national regulation of seabed. International covenant on civil and political rights adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by general assembly resolution 2200a xxi of 16 december 1966, entry into force 23 march 1976, in accordance with article 49 preamble. What is meant by article 300 of the indian constitution. United nations convention on the law of the sea unclos. Framework for theprotection and preservation of the marine environment aldo chircop. One example is article 362 of the icj statute, through which states can make a declaration that they consent to submit future disputes to the icj. The united nations convention on the law of the sea unclos, also called the law of the sea convention or the law of the sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third united nations conference on the law of the sea unclos iii, which took place between 1973 and 1982. The tribunal found that italy violated article 871 of the united nations convention on the law of the sea unclos, but did not violate article 300 of unclos.
Article 234 of the united nations convention on the law of the sea unclos provides the authority and opportunity for the u. Without a doubt, unclos contains numerous provisions addressing matters of the marine environment. The provisions of this part apply to all parts of the sea that are not included in the exclusive economic zone, in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a state, or in the archipelagic waters of an archipelagic state. Reflections after 30 years robert beckman and tara davenport1 abstract. Importantly, article 300 unclos prohibits any abuse of rights and freedoms and requires from coastal states to fulfil their obligations in good faith. This article attempts to highlight in very broad strokes some of the key issues surrounding u. United nations convention on the law of the sea contents page. A special case is made in article 64 of the draft conven tion for the management of highly migratory species, which include, among others, various species of tuna, bill the impact of unclos iii on management of the worlds fisheries fishes, oceanic sharks and whales. When i first discussed the idea of launching a new commentary on the 1982 united nations convention on the law of the sea unclos with participants of the fourth j. The latter can be intended as an incentive for the looting of the underwater cultural heritage, especially in the light of the application made by american courts of the socalled admiralty law.
Thereafter, an assessment of article 234 unclos and some examples of national regulations adopted in canada and the russian federation pursuant to this article will follow. The award says that the south china sea is a semienclosed sea, 2 and although the point is not elaborated, this is presumably intended as a reference to part ix of unclos which deals with enclosed and semienclosed seas 3. United nations convention on the law of the sea unclos done at. Article 300 of unclos reflects this customary law principle. Article 193 sovereign right of states to exploit their natural resources states have the sovereign right to exploit their natural resources pursuant to their environmental policies. This article shows that the tribunal in the chagos marine protected area arbitration between mauritius and the united kingdom has contributed considerably to the creeping expansion of compulsory jurisdiction of courts and tribunals established under part xv of the united nations convention on the law of the sea unclos. United nations convention on the law of the sea preamble and excerpts from part xii summary. International covenant on civil and political rights. Article 208 of unclos and national regulation of seabed mining chapter 12 natural resources and the law of the sea international law institute series on international law, arbitration and practice, volume 2.
Unclos iii, 19731982 585 days over a 9year period participation of 160 nations unclos is one of the largest history contains 320 articles and 9 annexes the agreement addresses a myriad of issues including navigational rights of ships and aircraft, limits on the extension of national sovereignty over the oceans, environmental protection of the. When a state ratifies unclos, it gives advance consent to submit disputes arising. United nations convention on the law of the sea of 10 december 1982. The legal framework for theprotection and preservation of.