Law of the Sea: Meaning and Application

The principal uses of the sea are for shipping and fishing. There were many instances of the employment of technology depending on human growth, and occasionally they tried to meet human requirements. The seafloor was used to produce numerous different minerals, including natural gas, oil, sand, gravel, diamonds, and gold, among other resources. The traditional idea of "Freedom of the Maritimes" was put to one side with the growth of trade in the 20th century and the unending reality of sea use. To manage and regularize all such activities and resources, some concrete legislation is mandatory. This is how the law of sea came into existence.

What is Law of the Sea?

The law of the sea is a branch of public international law that regulates the territorial claims of coastal states as well as the rights and obligations of states with regard to the use and preservation of the ocean environment and its natural resources. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations and ratified in 1982 by 117 States, is sometimes used to refer to the law of the sea. UNCLOS came into force in 1994. The public international law of the sea is discussed in this article, with a primary emphasis on UNCLOS.

The Law of the Sea lays out guidelines for how states may exploit the oceans, including how marine resources should be maintained and managed. Most significantly, the new regulations grant governments with coastlines territorial autonomy over a stretch of water up to 12 nautical miles inland.

However, this does not imply that they are free to do whatever they like inside those 12 miles. For instance, the law permits use of navigational features like straits or canals by the international community, such as the relatively narrow Bosporus strait held by Turkey. The nation (or nations) in possession of the strait, however, controls how passes are built.

Coastal governments also possess sovereign authority over an area known as an "exclusive economic zone," which extends 200 nautical miles from their coastline and grants these states additional privileges. The maritime law −

• Ensures that ships using the ocean behave properly in order to boost each country's economic growth.

• Explains how each nation is free to use the ocean anyway they see fit.

• Lays out guidelines for the security of nations using the water.

• Determines which oceanic territories each nation will receive.

History of Law of the Sea

The United Nations worked for 14 years with more than 150 nations to commission the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in an effort to assist in resolving disputes and issues pertaining to each nation's traditional three-mile claim to its offshore sea. The agreement resulted in a body of international law that aims to uphold world peace and enforce rules at sea. It became operative on November 16, 1994, after being made available for signature on December 10, 1982.

• In accordance with the 1982 treaty, each nation's sovereign territorial seas are limited to a distance of 12 nautical miles (22 km) from its coast, but international vessels are given permission to travel through this area unharmed.

As long as a ship avoids engaging in banned activities like espionage, smuggling, major pollution, fishing, or conducting scientific study, passage is considered lawful. The navigational rights of foreign shipping are strengthened where territorial waters include straits used for international navigation (for example, the straits of Gibraltar, Mandeb, Hormuz, and Malacca), where the innocent passage regime has been replaced by a transit passage regime that imposes fewer restrictions on foreign ships. In the waters of archipelagos, a similar system is in place in key seaways (e.g., Indonesia).

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a treaty negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations, is sometimes linked to the law of the sea. It was signed in 1982 by 117 states and came into effect in 1994.

• A papal bull issued in 1493 that divided the world's oceans between Portugal and Spain, cementing Spain's claim to have discovered the New World by Christopher Columbus, is widely regarded as the origin of maritime law. Hugo Grotius, a Dutch jurist, advocated for freedom of the seas on the basis of natural law in 1608; John Selden, an English scholar, argued for the formation of sovereign powers over parts of the ocean in 1635. This major "discussion" took place at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

• Both regimes still exist today, despite the fact that scientific and technological developments have reduced the area of the seas that are not governed by coastal states and that international laws have been developed to control a wide range of activities that take place outside the purview of national jurisdictions.

The two legal systems that are most closely related to the law of the sea are as follows −

Maritime Law

A ship or the commercial activity of shipping is covered by maritime law, which is private law.

Admiralty Law

Admiralty law, which is frequently used interchangeably with maritime law, governs the private law of navigation and shipping in inland waters as well as on the sea.

In more localized contexts, the latter could be used to describe the legal authority of specialized admiralty courts. Between the public international law of the sea and private maritime law, there may be significant overlaps, as shown in the application of regulations for vessel transit through a jurisdiction or the enforcement of domestic law in the ocean.

Conclusion

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) creates a comprehensive command to govern the rights of nations in respect of the world’s oceans. International Maritime Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for improving maritime safety and preventing pollution from ships.

Life itself arose from the oceans. Even now, when the continents have been mapped and their interiors made accessible by road, river and air, most of the people in the world live no more than 200 miles from the sea and relate closely to it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What are the principles of the Law of the Sea?

Ans: The rule of the sea ensures that ships using the ocean to boost each country's economy behave properly. It specifies how each nation may use the ocean, offers guidelines for the safety of nations using the ocean, and determines the portions of the ocean each nation will receive.

Q2. What is the purpose of the law of the sea?

Ans: The United Nations established the Law of the Sea to establish laws that cover customs and treaties in order to prevent conflict over the ocean.

Q3. Is the United States part of the law of the sea?

Ans: In the 1970s and 1980s, the United States participated in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. is responsible for establishing specific laws and regulations, and it continues to be a custodian of the convention's statutes.