Upsetting the Balance? The Legality of Vessel Confiscation under the losc after the M/V Virginia G Case

Abstract

Abstract Although a delicate ‘balance’ was struck between coastal State rights and flag State freedoms in the exclusive economic zone (eez) during negotiations of the losc, uncertainty persists around the specific content of these rights and freedoms. This uncertainty has been highlighted through numerous legal disputes regarding the confiscation of foreign fishing vessels for eez fisheries offences—now a common feature in coastal State maritime enforcement regimes. Amidst longstanding ambiguity around the legality of vessel confiscation regimes and their permissible design, M/V Virginia G was the first itlos decision to consider these questions directly. This article evaluates whether the decision provided greater clarity on these questions. In doing so, it reflects on the strikingly altered realities of fishing practices since the negotiation of the losc, and whether the Tribunal’s approach reflects an appropriate application of the eez ‘balance’ in light of contemporary circumstances faced by the international community today.