Table Of ContentTThhee IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall LLaaww ooff tthhee SSeeaa
The law of the sea is a complex and fascinating subject. This textbook explores the
subject from the perspective of public international law, covering all the key topics
from the legal regimes governing the different jurisdictional zones, to international
cooperation for protection of the marine environment. Students interested in inter-
national environmental and natural resources law will also i nd chapters on emer-
ging issues such as the conservation and the protection of natural resources and
bio-diversity in the oceans. Combining clarity of expression with engaging academic
analysis, this is required reading for all students of the subject.
Y OSHIFUMI T ANAKA is Associate Professor of International Law at the Faculty of
Law, University of Copenhagen. He has taught international law of the sea at several
different universities and has also published widely in the i eld.
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The International Law
of the Sea
Yoshifumi T anaka
University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law
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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
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© C ambridge University Press 2 012
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2012
Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data
Tanaka, Yoshifumi.
The international law of the sea / Yoshifumi Tanaka, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-107-00999-8 (hardback) – ISBN 978-0-521-27952-9 (paperback)
1. Law of the sea. I. Title.
KZA1145.T36 2012
341.4′5–dc23
2011052555
ISBN 9 78-1-107-00999-8 Hardback
ISBN 9 78-0-521-27952-9 Paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or
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this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is,
or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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Dedicated to my teachers,
Lucius Cal isch, Hugh Thirlway and Tetsuo Sato
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
Let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Psalm 96:11
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Contents
Preface page xv
List of Figures xvii
List of Tables xviii
List of Abbreviations xix
Table of Cases x xi
Table of Treaties and Instruments xxv
PPAARRTT II T THHEE DDIIVVIIDDEEDD OOCCEEAANNSS:: IINNTTEERRNNAATTIIOONNAALL
LLAAWW GGOOVVEERRNNIINNGG JJUURRIISSDDIICCTTIIOONNAALL ZZOONNEESS 1 1
1 The Law of the sea in perspective 3
1 I ntroduction 3
1.1 General considerations 3
1.2 Functions of the law of the sea 4
2 M arine spaces in the law of the sea 5
2.1 Scope of the oceans in the law of the sea 5
2.2 T ypology of marine spaces 5
3 S ources of the international law of the sea 8
3.1 Formal sources 8
3.2 Material sources 1 3
4 P rinciples of the international law of the sea 16
4.1 Principle of freedom 1 6
4.2 Principle of sovereignty 1 7
4.3 Principle of the common heritage of mankind 1 9
5 T he codii cation of the law of the sea 20
5.1 The Hague Conference for the Codii cation of International Law (1930) 2 0
5.2 The First UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1958) 2 1
5.3 T he Second UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1960) 2 4
5.4 T he Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973–1982) 2 4
6 O utline of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 3 0
6.1 G eneral considerations 3 0
6.2 Principal features of the Convention 3 1
vii
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viii Contents
7 D evelopment after UNCLOS III 3 2
7.1 G eneral considerations 3 2
7.2 Adoption of two Implementation Agreements 3 3
7.3 De facto amendment of the LOSC through Meetings of States Parties 3 4
7.4 Development of the law of the sea through international organisations 3 5
8 C onclusions 3 7
2 B aselines and related issues 4 3
1 I ntroduction 4 3
2 B aselines 4 4
2.1 N ormal baselines 4 4
2.2 S traight baselines 4 5
2.3 Juridical bays 5 3
2.4 Historic bays 5 6
2.5 B ays bordered by more than one State 5 9
2.6 R iver mouths 6 0
2.7 P orts 6 1
3 I slands 6 2
3.1 N ature of the problem 6 2
3.2 Geological elements of islands 6 3
3.3 Socio-economic elements of islands 6 4
3.4 C ustomary law nature of Article 121 6 7
3.5 Reefs 6 8
4 L ow-tide elevations 6 9
4.1 I dentii cation of low-tide elevations 6 9
4.2 Case law concerning low-tide elevations 7 0
5 C onclusions 7 2
3 M arine spaces under national jurisdiction I: territorial sovereignty 7 6
1 I ntroduction 7 6
2 I nternal waters 7 7
2.1 S patial scope of internal waters 7 7
2.2 L egal status of internal waters 7 8
2.3 Jurisdiction of the coastal State over foreign vessels in internal waters 7 8
2.4 Access to ports 8 0
2.5 Ships in distress at sea 8 1
3 T erritorial sea 83
3.1 L egal status of the territorial sea 8 3
3.2 The right of innocent passage 8 5
3.3 The right of innocent passage of warships 8 8
3.4 T he right of innocent passage of foreign nuclear-powered ships and
ships carrying inherently dangerous or noxious substances 9 2
3.5 The rights of the coastal State concerning innocent passage 9 3
3.6 The obligations of the coastal State concerning innocent passage 9 5
4 I nternational straits 96
4.1 L egal framework for international straits prior to 1982 9 6
4.2 Typology of international straits under the LOSC 9 7
4.3 International straits under Part III of the LOSC 9 7
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ix Contents
4.4 I nternational straits outside the scope of Part III of the LOSC 1 00
4.5 The right of transit passage 1 02
4.6 Rights and obligations of coastal States bordering straits 1 04
4.7 C ustomary law character of the right of transit passage 1 06
4.8 N on-suspendable innocent passage 1 07
4.9 Legality of creation of bridges in international straits 1 07
5 Archipelagic waters 1 08
5.1 General considerations 1 08
5.2 Dei nition of an archipelago, archipelagic States and archipelagic waters 1 09
5.3 Archipelagic baselines 1 10
5.4 J urisdiction of archipelagic States over archipelagic waters 1 12
5.5 The right of innocent passage through archipelagic waters 1 13
5.6 The right of archipelagic sea lanes passage 1 14
5.7 Rights and obligations of an archipelagic State 1 16
6 Conclusions 116
4 M arine spaces under national jurisdiction II: sovereign rights 1 20
1 Introduction 120
2 Contiguous zone 121
2.1 T he concept of the contiguous zone 1 21
2.2 C oastal State jurisdiction over the contiguous zone 1 22
3 Exclusive economic zone 1 24
3.1 G enesis of the concept of the EEZ 1 24
3.2 Legal status of the EEZ 1 25
3.3 Sovereign rights over the EEZ 1 26
3.4 Jurisdiction of coastal States over the EEZ 1 28
3.5 F reedoms of third States 1 30
3.6 Residual rights 1 31
4 Continental shelf 132
4.1 G enesis of the concept of the continental shelf 1 32
4.2 Spatial scope of the continental shelf 1 33
4.3 Criteria for determining the outer limits of the continental
shelf beyond 200 nautical miles 1 35
4.4 T he Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf 1 38
4.5 Procedures to establish the outer limits of the continental shelf 1 39
4.6 Payments concerning the exploitation of the continental
shelf beyond 200 nautical miles 1 41
4.7 T he sovereign rights of the coastal State over the continental shelf 1 42
4.8 F reedoms of third States 1 44
5 Conclusions 146
5 M arine spaces beyond national jurisdiction 1 49
1 Introduction 149
2 The high seas 150
2.1 S patial scope of the high seas 1 50
2.2 P rinciple of the freedom of the high seas 1 50
2.3 Principle of the exclusive jurisdiction of the l ag State 1 52
2.4 T he nationality of a ship 1 55
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x Contents
2.5 P roblems associated with l ags of convenience 1 57
2.6 E xceptions to the exclusive jurisdiction of the l ag State (1):
the right of visit 1 59
2.7 E xceptions to the exclusive jurisdiction of the l ag State (2):
the right of hot pursuit 1 63
2.8 Exceptional measures 1 67
3 T he Area 1 70
3.1 G eneral considerations 1 70
3.2 Spatial scope of the Area 1 70
3.3 Raison d’être of the principle of the common heritage of mankind 1 71
3.4 E lements of the principle of the common heritage of mankind 1 72
3.5 International Seabed Authority 1 73
3.6 System for the exploration and exploitation of resources of the Area 1 77
3.7 T he 1994 Implementation Agreement 1 78
3.8 Evaluation 1 82
4 C onclusions 1 83
6 M aritime delimitation 1 86
1 I ntroduction 1 86
2 C oncept of maritime delimitation 187
2.1 D ei nition 1 87
2.2 T ypology of maritime delimitation 1 88
3 T reaty law concerning maritime delimitation 188
3.1 T he 1958 Geneva Conventions 1 88
3.2 T he 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1 90
4 D evelopment of case law relating to maritime delimitation:
two contrasting approaches 1 92
4.1 T he i rst phase (1969–1992) 1 92
4.2 The second phase (1993–present) 1 94
4.3 C ommentary 1 97
5 C onsideration of relevant circumstances (1): geographical factors 1 98
5.1 C oni guration of coasts 1 98
5.2 P roportionality 1 99
5.3 B aselines 2 02
5.4 P resence of islands 2 04
5.5 Geological and geomorphological factors 2 06
5.6 Presence of third States 2 06
6 C onsideration of relevant circumstances (2): non-geographical factors 2 08
6.1 E conomic factors 2 08
6.2 Conduct of the parties 2 10
6.3 Historic rights 2 11
6.4 S ecurity interests 2 12
6.5 Navigational factors 2 12
6.6 E nvironmental factors 2 12
7 A n evaluation 2 13
7.1 G eneral trend of case law 2 13
7.2 Judicial creativity in the law of maritime delimitation 2 13
8 C onclusions 2 14
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