United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is a comprehensive international agreement that establishes a legal framework governing the world's oceans and seas. Opened for signature on December 10, 1982, UNCLOS aims to protect marine environments while clarifying the rights and responsibilities of nations regarding ocean use. The convention, often described as the constitution of the sea, comprises 320 articles and 9 annexes, addressing various topics such as territorial seas, exclusive economic zones, and deep seabed resource management.
Despite its widespread ratification, with 164 member states as of 2023, notable countries, including the United States, have not endorsed it, primarily due to disagreements over the regulation of deep-seabed resources. One of the convention's key principles is the notion that the seabed and its resources beyond national jurisdiction are considered the "common heritage of mankind," emphasizing equitable access for all nations, particularly developing ones. Additionally, UNCLOS includes extensive provisions for the protection of the marine environment, requiring signatory nations to fulfill their obligations related to pollution prevention and environmental preservation. Overall, UNCLOS represents a significant effort to balance the diverse interests of nations in the complex arena of international maritime law.
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Subject Terms
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
THE CONVENTION: International agreement regarding all matters pertaining to international waters
DATE: Opened for signature on December 10, 1982
SIGNIFICANCE: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides a legal framework over the world’s oceans designed to protect the seas and clarify the responsibilities of signatory nations; however, it has not been endorsed by several major nations, including the United States.
Law of the sea is a distinct area of international law that outlines rules governing the exploitation of the world’s oceans. It was the subject of the first attempt by the International Law Commission to place a large segment of international law on a multilateral treaty basis. Four conventions resulting from the commission’s work were produced by the first and second Geneva Conferences in 1958 and 1960. The pressure leading to the law of the sea conference, which lasted between 1974 and 1982 and involved a very wide range of states and international organizations, included a variety of economic, political, and strategic factors and resulted in the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also known as the Law of the Sea Treaty. This convention, with 320 articles and 9 annexes, was adopted in 1982 by 130 votes to 4, with 17 abstentions. It came into force on November 16, 1994, and has been ratified by 164 member states, three observer states, and the Europena Union as of 2023.
The convention, which provides a legal framework and specific regime over each area of the sea, is often referred to as the constitution of the sea. Among the areas covered by UNCLOS arecontinental shelves, the territorial sea, international straits, , the high seas, the deep seabed, exclusive economic zones, innocent passage, nationality of ships, collisions at sea, pollution, and settlements of disputes. UNCLOS covers all of the ground of the four 1958 conventions and quite a lot more. The preamble to the convention states that one of its key purposes is “to contribute to the realisation of a just and equitable international economic order which takes into account the interests and needs of mankind as a whole and, in particular, the special interests and needs of developing countries, whether coastal or landlocked.” This theme underpins the convention’s approach to dealing with exclusive economic zones, continental shelves, the deep seabed, and other issues.
Article 136 of the convention provides that both the area that includes the seabed, ocean floor, and subsoil thereof beyond the limits of national jurisdiction or economic zone and its resources are “the common heritage of mankind” and that no sovereign or other rights to this area and its resources may be recognized. The regulation of the seabed is an area of controversy, as the developed countries have the technologies and financial resources to exploit the natural resources found on and beneath the seabed, but the developing countries claim a share in those resources. Dissatisfaction with the deep-seabed regime in UNCLOS led the United States to vote against the convention’s adoption. The United States is not a signatory to this convention.
Because of the negative impacts of the disposal of toxic and other noxious materials at sea, UNCLOS devotes about fifty articles to the protection of the marine environment. Signatory nations are responsible for the fulfillment of their international obligations concerning the protection and preservation of the marine and are liable in accordance with international law. For example, in the Torrey Canyon incident of 1967, a Liberian tanker that ran aground along the British coast was bombed by the British military as a necessary measure to protect the coastline and its marine life. Parties to the convention are required to have adequate provisions to compensate when those acting under their jurisdictions cause environmental damage and pollution. The convention’s articles concerning protection of the marine environment also provide for global and regional cooperation, technical assistance, monitory and environmental assessment, and the development of the enforcement of international and domestic law aimed at preventing pollution.
Bibliography
Anderson, David. Modern Law of the Sea: Selected Essays. Boston: Martinus Nijhoff, 2008.
Freestone, David, Richard Barnes, and David Ong, eds. The Law of the Sea: Progress and Prospects. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
"Law of the Sea Convention." National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 5 Jan. 2023, www.noaa.gov/law-of-sea-convention. Accessed 24 July 2024.
Nelson, Jason C. “The Contemporary Seabed Mining Regime: A Critical Analysis of the Mining Regulations Promulgated by the International Seabed Authority.” Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy 16, no. 1 (2005): 27-76.
Sohn, Louis B., et al. The Law of the Sea in a Nutshell. 2d ed. St. Paul, Minn.: West, 2010.