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The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

By the mid-1950s, it had become increasingly clear that existing international principles governing ocean
affairs were no longer capable of effectively guiding conduct on and use of the seas. The oceans had long been
subject to the freedom-of-the-sea doctrine — a seventeenth century principle that limited national rights and
jurisdiction over the oceans to a narrow belt of sea surrounding a nation’s coastline. The remainder of the seas
was proclaimed to be free to all and belonging to none.
But technological innovations, coupled with a global population explosion, had drastically changed man’s
relationship to the oceans. Larger and more advanced fishing fleets were endangering the sustainability of fish
stocks, the marine environment was increasingly threatened by pollution caused by industrial and other human
activity, and tensions between States over conflicting claims to the oceans and its vast resources were intensifying.
In this atmosphere, the United Nations convened the first of three conferences on the Law of the Sea in
Geneva in 1958. The conference produced four conventions, dealing respectively with the territorial sea and
the contiguous zone, the high seas, fishing and conservation of the living resources of the high seas, and the
continental shelf.
Two years later, the United Nations convened the Second Conference on the Law of the Sea, which, in spite
of intensive efforts, failed to produce an agreement on the breadth of the territorial sea and on fishing zones.
While the first two Conferences on the Law of the Sea had advanced a number of issues concerning international ocean affairs, the majority still remained unsolved. The creation of a comprehensive international
treaty was to become the legacy of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.
A speech to the United Nations General Assembly by Malta’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Arvid
Pardo, on 1 November 1967, has often been credited with setting in motion a process that spanned 15 years and
culminated with the adoption of the Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982. In his speech, Ambassador
Pardo urged the international community to take immediate action to prevent the breakdown of law and order
on the oceans, a disaster that many feared loomed on the horizon. He called for “an effective international
regime over the seabed and the ocean floor beyond a clearly defined national jurisdiction”.
Ambassador Pardo’s call to action came at the right time. In the next five years, the international community took several major steps that were crucial in setting the stage for a comprehensive treaty. In 1968, the
General Assembly established a Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Seabed and the Ocean Floor beyond the
Limits of National Jurisdiction, which began work on a statement of legal principles to govern the uses of the
seabed and its resources. In 1970, the Assembly unanimously adopted the Committee’s Declaration of
Principles, which declared the seabed and ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction to be the common heritage of mankind. The same year, the Assembly decided to convene the Third Conference on the Law
of the Sea to create a single comprehensive international treaty that would govern all ocean affairs.

Third Conference on the Law of the Sea
The Third Conference on the Law of the Sea opened in 1973 with a brief organizational session, followed in 1974
by a second session held in Caracas, Venezuela. In Caracas, delegates announced that they would approach the
new treaty as a “package deal”, to be accepted as a whole in all its parts without reservation on any aspect. This
decision proved to be instrumental to the successful conclusion of the treaty.
A first draft was submitted to delegates in 1975. Over the next seven years, the text underwent several
major revisions. But on 30 April 1982, an agreement had been reached and the final text of the new convention
was put to a vote. The vote, which took place at United Nations Headquarters in New York, marked the end of over a
decade of intense and often strenuous negotiations, involving the participation of more than 160 countries from all
regions of the world and all legal and political systems.
The Convention was adopted with 130 States voting in favour, 4 against and 17 abstaining. Later that same year,
on 10 December, the Convention was opened for signature at Montego Bay, Jamaica, and received a record number of
signatures — 119 — on the first day.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea entered into force on 16 November 1994, one year after it
had reached the 60 ratifications necessary. Today the Convention is fast approaching universal participation, with 138
States, including the European Union, having become parties.
The Convention is supplemented by two agreements dealing respectively with Seabed Mining and Straddling and
Highly Migratory Fish Stocks.

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The 1994 Implementation Agreement about seabed area, under view of law of the sea

The 1994 Implementation Agreement about seabed area, under view of law of the sea, ‘mini-treaty’ regime, 1994 Implementation Agreement, Common Heritage of Mankind, Cost-effectiveness, Economic assistance: In order to assist developing countries, Financial terms of contracts, International Seabed Authority Endowment Fund for Marine Scientific Research in the Area, LOSC, Market-orientated Approaches, Production policies, seabed Area, The obligation to transfer technology, UNCLOS III

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what is the meaning of EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE (treaties and customary international law)

The EEZ is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, not extending beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline of the territorial sea. The origin of the concept of the EEZ may go back to the practice of the Latin American States after World War II. Originally the figure of 200 nautical miles appeared in 1947, when Chile (23 June 1947) and Peru (1 August 1947) claimed such an extent for the exercise of full sovereignty. The figure of 200 nautical miles relied on scientific facts: it would enable the Andean States to reach the Peruvian and the Humboldt Currents, which were particularly rich in living species.
.. what is the meaning of EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE (treaties and customary international law), customary law, Declaration of Santo Domingo, EEZ, exclusive economic zone, maritime zone, Montevideo Declaration, patrimonial sea, sovereignty, UNCLOS I, UNCLOS II, UNCLOS III

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what is the meaning ARCHIPELAGIC WATERS in the international law of the sea and LOSC?

The key concept of archipelagic waters is that a group of islands in mid-ocean, i.e. ‘midocean archipelagos’, should be considered as forming a unit; and that the waters enclosed by baselines joining the outermost points of the archipelago should be under territorial sovereignty. While the question of a special archipelagic regime has been discussed on various occasions since the early twentieth century, neither the 1930 Hague Conference, nor UNCLOS I could resolve this question. The 1958 Geneva Conventions contain no provision with regard to mid-ocean archipelagos or archipelagic waters.
. what is the meaning ARCHIPELAGIC WATERS in the international law of the sea and LOSC?, archipelagic doctrine, Archipelagic States and Maritime Navigation, archipelagic waters, Archipelagic Waters and Exclusive Economic Zone, archipelagic waters unclos, archipelagic waters vs internal waters, archipelago, Article 46(a) of the LOSC, continental shelf, EEZ, law of the sea, Legal status of archipelagic waters, LOSC, The Archipelagic States Concept, UNCLOS I, UNCLOS III, What are the four categories of waters under the Unclos?, What is archipelagic baseline?, What is the archipelagic rule?, Which countries are archipelagos?, Which waters are identified as archipelagic waters?

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international law of the sea and The Right of Transit Passage on the international straits

Article 38(2) of LOSC defines transit passage as:
the exercise in accordance with this Part [III] of the freedom of navigation and overflight solely for the purpose of continuous and expeditious transit of the strait between one part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone and another part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone.
This provision continues that: ‘the requirement of continuous and expeditious transit does not preclude passage through the strait for the purpose of entering, leaving or returning from a State bordering the strait, subject to the conditions of entry to that State’. Thus the transit passage includes lateral and inward/outward-bound passage. The right of transit passage in international straits differs from the right of innocent passage in the territorial sea in four respects.. international law of the sea and The Right of Transit Passage on the international straits, Chicago Convention with respect to the airspace over the straits, continuous and expeditious transit, exclusive economic zone, freedom of navigation, international straits, submarines, transit passage, UNCLOS III

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The meaning and rule of ISLANDS baseline and its difference with rocks and reefs on the law of the sea and LOSC

The definition of an island is provided in Article 121(1) of the LOSC:
An island is a naturally-formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide. This provision, which follows Article 10(1) of the TSC, contains four criteria that call for comment.. the meaning and role of ISLANDS baseline situation and its difference with rocks and reefs on the on the law of the sea and LOSC, Article 121 of the LOSC, Article 121(2) of the LOSC, baseline, continental shelf, Definition of an Island, EEZ, Greenland/Jan Mayen case, Hvalrossbukta, ISLANDS, Jan Mayen, Judges Bedjaoui, low water line, Nicaragua/Colombia case, Okinotorishima, Qatar/Bahrain case, Qit’at Jaradah, reefs, rocks, South China Sea Arbitration, UNCLOS I, UNCLOS III, Walrus Bay

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The Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973–1982)

After several revisions of the Texts, the Draft Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted at the resumed tenth session on 28 August 1981. At the eleventh session, a number of changes and amendments were made to the final text of the Convention in order to accommodate the concerns of the United States. Nevertheless, the United States did not support the adoption of the Convention by consensus or without a vote, requesting a recorded vote. Consequently, the consensus procedure was abandoned in the final stage of UNCLOS III. The LOSC was finally adopted on 30 April 1982 by 130 in favour, 4 against, with 18 abstentions and 18 unrecorded. The Convention was opened for signature on
10 December 1982.. The Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973–1982), Arvid Pardo, marine issues, Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973–1982), UN General Assembly Resolution 2340 (XXII), UNCLOS III

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International Law of the Sea lecture in pdf

International Law of the Sea lecture in pdf, law of the sea, law of the sea lecture, sea

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law of the sea, lecture, pdf slides

law of the sea, lecture, pdf slides, Do laws apply in the ocean?, history of the law of the sea, How many countries signed the Law of the Sea?, law of the sea, lecture in law of the sea, legal regime of the International Sea Bed Area, UN convention on the law of the sea, UNCLOS III, What are the principles of the Law of the Sea?, What does the law of the sea do?, What is the 200 nautical mile limit?, Which law delimits world seas?, Who created the law of the sea?, Who has the right to use the ocean?, Who is the father of the law of the sea?, Who owns the sea?, Why is the law of the sea unsuccessful?

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