UNCLOS

United Nation Convention on Law of the Sea

17th Century- free to all and belonging to none
Mid 20th Century- national claims over offshore resources
1945- Harry S Truman- US jurisdiction over all natural resources on continental shelf
1946- Argentina claim continental shelf and sea above it
1947- sovereign rights over 200 mile zone to protect fish stock
1976, May 28- India declare the territorial waters, continental shelf, EEZ

UNCLOS 1
1956- UN, first Conference on UNCLOS 1 at Geneva Switzerland
1958- 86 nations participated, 4 treaties concluded
1. Convention on the High Seas- Sept. 30, 1962
a. Freedom of Navigation, overflight, fishing, lay cables and pipelines
2. Convention on the Continental Shelf- June 10, 1964
a. Coastal nations have sovereignty right over seabed 7 its resources, but over the water &
airspace above the seabed
3. Convention on the Territorial Sea & Contiguous Zone- Sept. 10, 1964
a. Establish sovereignty rights of passage through territorial sea
b. Establish contiguous zine to extend 12 nautical miles from the baseline
c. But failed to set standards of limits on the territorial sea
4. Convention on the Fishing & Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas- Mar. 20, 1966
a. Establish the right of coastal nations to protect living ocean resources

UNCLOS 2, 1960
Resolve the problem in UNCLOS 1
-Width of territorial seas
-Fisheries Limits
No agreement on either issues

UNCLOS 3, 1973-1982
585 days over 9years
Participation of 160 nations
UNCLOS- larget history contains 320 articles & 9 annexes
Addresses myriad issues
-navigation rights of ships, aircraft
-limits on extension of national sovereignty over oceans
-environmental protection of the oceans, conservation of living resources and mining rights
UNCLOS
-First signed in December 1982
-Treaty Came in to Force in 1994
-many nations have not signed the treaty
-required 60 signatures for ratification and could only enter into force one yr after nation ratified/acceded
Because of Article 309 “No reservation or exceptions may be made to this convention
unless expressly permitted by other articles of this convention”

Important agreements reached UNCLOS 3

-territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles
-contiguous zone up to 24 nautical miles from the shoreline for purposes of enforcement of custom,
fiscal, immigration
-EEZ up to 200 nautical miles from the shoreline for purposes of exploring and exploiting,
conserving & managing the natural resources.
- resources of the seabed and oceanfloor and subsoil thereof beyond the limits of national
jurisdiction are the common heritage of mankind
-an International Seabed Authority will organize, carry out and control activities associated with
the exploitation of the resources of international seabed
 -a so-called Enterprise will carry out activitiesin the international seabed for the Authority and will
be responsible for transporting, processing and marketing minerals recovered from the international
seabed.

Landlocked states-not ratified UNCLOS 3

an independent sovereign state that does not have direct access to an ocean,
Divisions of Oceaan Areas
Baselines- boundary from nation to continental shelf
-low-water line along the coast
Internal waters- contained on landward side of the baseline
ART. 3- Breadth of the territorial sea
Territorial sea- 12 nautical miles from baseline limits of territorial sea
ART. 4- Outer limit of the territorial sea
The line every point of w/c is at distance from the nearest point of the baseline equal to the breath
of the territorial sea
ART. 5- Normal Baseline
Low-water line along the coast recognized by the coastal state
ART 6- Reef

ART 33- Contiguous zone- region measured 24 nautical miles from baseline

Exclusive Economic Zone EEZ

Region no more than 200 nautical miles from baseline
Can exploit natural resources, both in water and on seabed, utilize NR, may establish artificial
island, conduct research, pass law fro preservation and protection
Reasons of 200 nm
Most lucrative fishing grounds lies, richest phytoplankton
87% known and estimated hydrocarbon reserves all offshore mineral resources
99% of the world’s fisheries
Continental shelf
Real, naturally-occuring geological formation
Sloping undersea plain between the above-water portion of a landmass and deep ocean
ART 86- High seas
Beyond a nations EEZ
Open to all states, whether coastal or landlocked
ART 87- Nations permitted to freedom of navigation, overflight, lay submarine cable and pipelines, freedom
to construct artificial island, fishing, scientific research

ART 55- Specific legal regime of the EEZ

Define the EEZ as the zone beyond the territorial waters and the rights & jurisdiction of the coastal
states
ART 56- Rights, jurisdiction and duties of the coastal state in EEZ
Sovereign rights- exploring and exploiting, conserving, managing
Rights- establishing artificial island, marine research
ART 57- Breadth of the EEZ
ART 58- rights and duties of other states in the EEZ
ART 59- conflict regarding the attribution of rights & jurisdiction in the EEZ; should resolve on basis of
equity
ART 60- artificial island, installation and structures in EEZ
ART 61- Conservation of the living resources
ART 62- Utilization of the living resources
ART 64- highly migratory species
ART 65- Marine Mammals
High Seas
ART 87-
ART 89- Invalidity of claims of sovereignty over the high seas
ART 90- right of navigation
Conservation and management of the living resources of the high seas
ART 116- right to fish on the high seas
ART 117- duty of states to adopt with respect to their nationals measures for the conservation of the living
resources of the high seas
ART 118- Cooperation of states in the conservation and management of living resources
ART 119- Conservation of the living resources of the high seas
ART 120- Marine mammals
Enclosed or semi-enclosed seas
ART 122- means a gulf, basin or sea surrounded by 2 or more states
ART 123- Cooperation of states bordering enclosed or semi-enclosed seas

Part 2
UNCLOS 3- late 1973 in New York
Issues-setting limits
-navigation
-archipelagic status and transit regimes
-EEZ
-continental shelf jurisdiction
-deep seabed mining
-exploitation regimes
-protection of the marine environment
-scientific research
-settlement of maritime boundary disputes
-US and developed countries was not agree to Part IX of convention concerning deep seabed portions and
mining of potentially valuable metals
-unfavorable to American economic and security interests
- US claimed that the provision were not free-market friendly and designed to favor economic systems of
communists states

Controversy for International Seabed Authority (ISA)

-US is the only not ratified the convention that ISA is unnecessary
-includes the provisions such;
imposition of permit requirements, fees and taxation on seabed mining
use of collected money for wealth redistribution in addition to ISA administration
Mandatory technology transfer
1994, agreement on implementation that somewhat mitigates them and modifies ISA’s authority

Part X Right of land-locked states to and from the sea and freedom of transit
ART 125-130