LOS Convention Research Articles

Current Issues of Marine and Coastal Affairs in Indonesia

AbstractIndonesia had long struggled to attain recognition by international law of its special geographical configuration, starting as early as 1958 at the Geneva Conference, until recognition of the archipelagic regime was embodied in Part IV of the LOS Convention. Now, with the legitimacy of archipelago status, Indonesia has enacted a new law on the Indonesian Territorial Waters in 1996, whereby the new straight archipelagic baselines using principles embodied in the LOS Convention can replace the old provision of straight baselines from point to point. This paper relates the leading role Indonesia has played in settling boundary disputes, and also gives an account of the ocean industries that have developed within the various regions of the archipelago. In contrast with its strong position on delimitation issues, Indonesia seems to have taken a somewhat more conservative approach to the development of its ocean industries.

A New Era in Ocean Policy

AbstractIn this short piece, Senator Pell, veteran of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sets out the multiplicity of interests which would be protected if the US were to accede, in the near future, to the 1982 LOS Convention.

The Crisis over the Imia Rocks and the Aegean Sea Regime: International Law as a Language of Common Interest

AbstractSovereignty is a concept of international public interest. In the case of the Imia Rocks, the public interest nature of territorial sovereignty may be found in the undisputed treaty delimitation of the archipelagic entity of the Dodecanese Islands between Italy and Turkey, 1932, and the Peace Treaty of Paris, 1947. Turkey's subsequent conduct, its signature without reservation of the Helsinki Final Act and its claim for the bilateralisation of the Aegean Sea Dispute Agenda on the basis of a geo-political equity are all evidence of the acceptance of the delimitation regime of the Aegean Sea. The public interest regime of the LOS Convention makes questionable Turkey's recourse to the abstract notion of a "semi-enclosed" sea and provides the basis for understanding the pragmatic dimension of the Imia Rocks crisis in the light of the protection and promotion of international common interest.

Antarctic EEZ Baselines: An Alternative Formula

AbstractThe Antarctic has a unique political and physical architecture which is going to be difficult to reconcile with the guidelines and obligations contained within the LOS Convention. This is particularly so in relation to the LOS Convention's rules regarding the delimitation of a baseline from which both the EEZ and continental shelf are measured because of the presence of ice obscuring the true coastline. Of the seven states claiming sovereignty over Antarctic territory, Australia is one which has formally declared an EEZ off its Australian Antarctic Territory. However it has done so without first deciding where its coastal baseline will be positioned. Notwithstanding the possible political ramifications of Australia's preemptive declaration, there are choices available for baseline positioning which are not necessarily contained within the LOS Convention but, if treated in the usual consensual manner of Antarctic Treaty Party negotiations and the general rules of international law, represent a possible solution to this dilemma.

An Overview of the Jurisdictional Issues Affecting Hawaii's Ocean Waters

AbstractSerious legal questions about ownership and governance of the waters surrounding Hawaii remain unresolved. Hawaii's islands form a geographical archipelago, but its waters do not qualify as "archipelagic waters" under the formal definition in the LOS Convention. Jurisdictional conflicts exist between the state and federal governments. And the Native Hawaiians have strong claims to the waters and the marine resources that need to be addressed.

The Turbot War of 1995: Lessons for the Law of the Sea

AbstractCanada's seizure of the Spanish fishing vessel Estai in March 1995 touched off severe political tensions between Canada and the European Community. Known as the "Turbot War", the dispute arose over quota levels agreed to by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization for turbot stocks in fishing grounds straddling the high seas beyond Canada's proclaimed 200-mile national fishery zone. While underscoring tensions between coastal states and foreign fishing nations, this dispute became a diplomatic catalyst for the promulgation in August 1995 of a special UN Convention on the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Stocks. The "Turbot War" thus highlighted the utility of regional fishery organizations in monitoring and enforcing international fishing regulations and strengthened the international regulatory framework for managing straddling stocks under the 1982 LOS Convention.

Management regimes and responsibility for international straits: With special reference to the Mediterranean Straits

Following the entry into force of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (LOS Convention) on 16 November 1994, the regime of passage through international straits provided for in the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone will be superseded by the regime on ‘Straits Used for International Navigation’ in Part III of the LOS Convention. This article provides an analysis of the new regime with particular reference to Mediterranean straits.

The Role of the Secretary-General under the LOS Convention and the Part XI Agreement

The Role of the Secretary-General under the LOS Convention and the Part XI Agreement

Implementation of the LOS Convention at Regional Level : European Community Competence in Regulating Safety and Environmental Aspects of Shipping

Implementation of the LOS Convention at Regional Level : European Community Competence in Regulating Safety and Environmental Aspects of Shipping

An Operational Commander's Perspective on the 1982 LOS Convention

An Operational Commander's Perspective on the 1982 LOS Convention

The Entry into Force of the 1982 LOS Convention and the Article 76 Outer Continental Shelf Regime

The Entry into Force of the 1982 LOS Convention and the Article 76 Outer Continental Shelf Regime

Maritime policy and legal issues: Impact of the LOS convention and UNCED on UK maritime law and policy

Maritime policy and legal issues: Impact of the LOS convention and UNCED on UK maritime law and policy

The Management of Transboundary Fish Stocks under the LOS Convention

The Management of Transboundary Fish Stocks under the LOS Convention

The exclusive economic zone: State claims and the LOS convention

The rapid acceptance of the exclusive economic (EEZ) concept belies the broad differences among State claims beyond 12 nautical miles, and the wide gulf between State practice and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention). This paper first examines the areas of contention between State practice and the LOS Convention. These differences are characterized and the author concludes that the EEZ regime within the Convention does not address the specific individual and regional needs of States that have resulted in the wide discrepancy among State claims. The author suggests a global authority under which the jurisdictional line would be redrawn along the practical level of coastal State to vessel, rather than the political plane of coastal State to flag State.

Japanese tuna fisheries: Future trends

The Japanese fishing industry in general, and the distant-water fleet in particular, is undergoing a period of transformation in response to several constraints on its traditional modes of operation. The emergence of these constraints in the last 20 years has had a marked impact on the operation of distant-water fisheries and encouraged considerable structural change in the Japanese fishing industry. This paper examines issues facing Japan's long-distance tuna fishing industry, particularly the significant legal, political and economic constraints facing the industry. The paper argues that, notwithstanding the significance of the advent of 200-mile zones arising from the LOS Convention, the problem of restricted access to distant-water grounds is not as important in the medium term as the economic constraints on Japan's distant-water fishing industry. While it is clear that Japan is already adopting a number of strategies to cope with these legal, political and economic issues, the paper concludes that the long-term outlook for the distant-water tuna fishing industry in its current form is bleak.

The Politics and Policy of Deep Sea-Bed Mining

1982 marked the end of the ten-year negotiation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention),1 the most complex and comprehensive multilateral agreement ever negotiated. In April 1982, one-hundred and thirty countries voted in favor of the LOS Convention, seventeen abstained, and only four voted against the treaty. The United States was one of the four countries voting against the LOS Convention. Markus Schmidt's Common Heritage or Common Burden? is a comprehensive work that examines the formulation of United States foreign policy, the dynamics of international negotiations, and the United Nations treaty/decision making process.

China and the LOS convention

This article reviews China's attitude towards the four Geneva conventions concluded in 1958; China's practice on the law of the sea; China's positions during the UNCLOS III negotiations; and China's evaluation and critiques of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982. Some of the constraints that affect China's decision to ratify the convention are also considered. The article attempts to offer the outside world a general picture of China's contemporary theory and practice on the law of the sea.

Indonesia and the LOS convention: Recent developments in ocean law, policy and management

Indonesia and the LOS convention: Recent developments in ocean law, policy and management

Entitlement to Maritime Areas of Rocks Which Cannot Sustain Human Habitation or Economic Life of Their Own

Article 121 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention) retains the traditional definition of an island as: ‘a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high-tide’ (paragraph 1), and attributes to it the same maritime spaces as the mainland. These spaces are at present: the 12 mile territorial sea (TS), the 24 mile contiguous zone (CZ), the continental shelf (CS) and the 200 mile exclusive economic (or fishery) zone (EEZ) (paragraph 2). However, unlike the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea which gives the same legal status to all natural islands, paragraph 3 of Article 121 limits the legal entitlement of islands to maritime spaces by providing that:‘Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf’.

BOOK REVIEWSBOOK REVIEWSKwiatkowskaBarbaraDrAssociate Director, Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea121990373419424JayewardeneH.W., The Regime of Islands in International Law, Publications on Ocean Development, General Editor: OdaShigeru, Vol. 15, M. Nijhoff Publ., Dordrecht 1990, 572 pp. + Indexes, Dfl. 315/$ 159/£ 105.Copyright © T.M.C. Asser Press 19901990T.M.C. Asser PresspdfS0165070X00006914a.pdfdispartBook Reviews1.This in fact can also be advantageous with respect to many problems

BOOK REVIEWSBOOK REVIEWSKwiatkowskaBarbaraDrAssociate Director, Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea121990373419424JayewardeneH.W., The Regime of Islands in International Law, Publications on Ocean Development, General Editor: OdaShigeru, Vol. 15, M. Nijhoff Publ., Dordrecht 1990, 572 pp. + Indexes, Dfl. 315/$ 159/£ 105.Copyright © T.M.C. Asser Press 19901990T.M.C. Asser PresspdfS0165070X00006914a.pdfdispartBook Reviews1.This in fact can also be advantageous with respect to many problems