The Second UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1960)

On 17 March 1960, the Second UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS II) was convened in Geneva in order to discuss the outer limit of the territorial sea as well as the fishery zone. Eighty-eight States participated in the Conference. In order to break the deadlock on this subject, the United States and Canada put forward a joint proposal which provided for a 6-mile territorial sea plus a maximum of 6-mile exclusive fishery zone (EFZ), and for a ten-year moratorium period for historic fishing in the outer 6 miles. Nonetheless, the joint proposal was defeated by a single vote. Consequently, the efforts to fix the maximum breadth of the territorial sea at UNCLOS II proved once again in vain.

source: The International Law of the Sea, Yoshifumi Tanaka

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