Category: events and knowledge

the ILC came to wrestle with the codification of the law of the sea. The ILC, established by the UN General Assembly in 1947, aims to promote the progressive development of international law and its codification. This body commenced its work on the codification of the law of the sea at its first session in 1949, and J. P. A. François was appointed as the special rapporteur on the regime of the high seas. In its eighth session in 1956, the ILC submitted its final report on ‘Articles Concerning the Law of the Sea’ to the UN. This report provided the basis for the work at the First UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I).
UNCLOS I was convened in Geneva on 24 February 1958, and eighty-six States participated. UNCLOS I successfully adopted four conventions and an optional protocol on dispute settlement:
(i) The Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone,
(ii) The Convention on the High Seas,
(iii) The Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas,
(iv) The Convention on the Continental Shelf, and
(v) The Optional Protocol of Signature Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes. The First UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1958), continental shelf, Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas, Convention on the Continental Shelf, Convention on the High Seas, Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, ILC, marine living resources, offshore, Optional Protocol of Signature Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes, Proclamations on the Continental Shelf and on Fisheries, UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1958)