The law of the sea: Fourth edition

The law of the sea

MELLAND SCHILL STUDIES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

General editors

Iain Scobbie

Jean D’Aspremont

Founded as a memorial to Edward Melland Schill, a promising scholar killed during the First World War, the Melland Schill Lectures (1961–74) were established by the University of Manchester following a bequest by Edward’s sister, Olive B. Schill, to promote the understanding of international law and implicitly lessen the possibilities for future conflict. Dedicated to promoting women’s employment rights and access to education, Olive’s work is commemorated in both the Melland Schill series and the Women in International Law Network at the University of Manchester.

The Melland Schill lecture series featured a distinguished series of speakers on a range of controversial topics, including Quincy Wright on the role of international law in the elimination of war, Robert Jennings on the acquisition of territory, and Sir Ian Sinclair on the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

In the 1970s, Gillian White, the first woman appointed as a Professor of Law in mainland Britain, transformed the lectures into a monograph series, published by Manchester University Press. Many of the works previously published under the name ‘Melland Schill monographs’ have become standard references in the field, including: A. P. V. Rogers’ Law on the battlefield, which is currently in its third edition, and Hilary Charlesworth and Christine Chinkin’s The boundaries of international law, which offered the first book-length treatment of the application of feminist theories to international law.

Closely linked to the Melland Schill Studies in International Law series and carefully supervised by the editors, these volumes have been updated and reissued in paperback with new material.

Principles of direct and superior responsibility in international humanitarian law Ilias Bantekas

The treatment and taxation of foreign investment under international law Fiona Beveridge

War crimes and crimes against humanity in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Christine Byron

The boundaries of international law Hilary Charlesworth and Christine Chinkin

The law of the sea Robin Churchill and Vaughan Lowe

International law and policy of sustainable development Duncan French

The values of international organizations James D. Fry, Bryane Michael and Natasha Pushkarna

The changing rules on the use of force on international law Tarcisio Gazzini

Contemporary law of armed conflict Leslie Green

Child soldiers in international law Matthew Happold

Human rights in Europe J. G. Merrills and A. H. Robertson

The rights and duties of neutrals Stephen Neff

Law on the battlefield A. P. V. Rogers

Indigenous peoples and human rights Patrick Thornberry

Jurisprudence of international law Nicholas Tsagourias

The law of international organisations Nigel D. White

The law of the sea

Fourth edition

Robin Churchill, Vaughan Lowe and Amy Sander

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS

This edition copyright © Robin Churchill, Vaughan Lowe and Amy Sander 2022

Previous editions copyright © R. R. Churchill and A. V. Lowe 1983, 1985, 1988, 1999

The right of Robin Churchill, Vaughan Lowe and Amy Sander to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First edition published 1983 by Manchester University Press

Reprinted with addenda 1985

Revised edition printed 1988

This edition published 2022

by Manchester University Press

Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL

www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 5261 6480 3 hardback

ISBN 978 0 7190 7968 9 paperback

This edition first published 2022

The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Typeset by Newgen Publishing UK

Contents

List of figures

Series editor’s foreword

Preface

Abbreviations

Table of cases

Table of treaties

1Introduction

Scope of the book

Early development of the subject

Sources of the modern law of the sea

Attempts at codification

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

International organisations

The present legal regime

Materials on the law of the sea

2Baselines

Introduction

The low-water line

Artificially constructed baselines

Islands and baselines

Publicising baselines

Baselines and sea level rise

Concluding observations

3Internal waters

Definition

Legal status

The right of access to ports and other internal waters

Jurisdiction in internal waters

4The territorial sea

Development of the concept

Legal status of the bed, subsoil and superjacent airspace of the territorial sea

The breadth of the territorial sea

The right of innocent passage

The right to deny and suspend passage

Rights and duties of the coastal State

5Straits

Definition

The regime under customary law and the Territorial Sea Convention

The regime under UNCLOS

The UNCLOS regime and customary law

Special regimes

6The legal regime of archipelagic waters

Introduction

Development of a special regime for archipelagos

The legal status of archipelagic waters

Navigational rights of other States in archipelagic waters

Obligations of an archipelagic State in its archipelagic waters

Conclusion

7The contiguous zone

Introduction

Development of the concept

Breadth of the contiguous zone

Claims to a contiguous zone

Legal status of the contiguous zone

8The continental shelf

Introduction

The legal status of the continental shelf

The outer limit of the continental shelf

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf

The continental shelf of Antarctica

The rights and duties of the coastal State

Non-independent territories

9The exclusive economic zone

Introduction

Evolution of the EEZ

Extent and delineation of the EEZ

The legal nature of the EEZ

Claims to an EEZ

Concluding observations

10The delimitation of maritime boundaries

Introduction

The process of maritime boundary delimitation

Delimitation of territorial sea boundaries

Delimitation of maritime boundaries beyond the territorial sea but within 200 miles of the baseline

Delimitation of continental shelf boundaries beyond 200 miles

Grey areas

Obligations of States with overlapping maritime zones pending delimitation of a maritime boundary

Areas of joint management and exploitation and other co-operative arrangements

The effect of sea level rise on maritime boundary agreements

Concluding observations

11The high seas

Introduction

Definition

The legal status of the high seas

Freedom of the high seas

Jurisdiction on the high seas

12The International Seabed Area

Introduction

The background to the provisions of UNCLOS

Principles of the UNCLOS regime: an overview

The International Seabed Authority

The system of exploitation

The common heritage of mankind

13Safety of navigation

Introduction

The international legal framework for the adoption, implementation and enforcement of safety measures

Construction, design and equipment standards

The qualifications and working conditions of ships’ crews

Measures relating to the movement of ships

Other safety measures

Concluding observations

14The international regime governing marine fisheries

Introduction

Some background issues

The evolution of international fisheries law

The regime for fisheries within national jurisdiction

The regime for fisheries on the high seas

Instruments applying both within and beyond national jurisdiction

Concluding observations

15Protection of the marine environment: an introduction

Introduction

The framework of international law for protecting the marine environment

Principles for marine environmental policy-making and legislation

Control of marine pollution: an introduction

Conservation of marine biodiversity: an introduction

16Protection of the marine environment: controlling marine pollution

Introduction

Pollution from ships

Pollution by dumping

Pollution from seabed activities subject to national jurisdiction

Pollution from activities in the Area

Pollution from land-based sources

Pollution from or through the atmosphere

Concluding observations

17Protection of the marine environment: conserving marine biodiversity

Introduction

Holistic instruments

Protection of marine habitats

Conservation of species

Concluding observations

18The international legal regime for marine scientific research

Introduction

Development of the international legal regime for marine scientific research

The meaning of ‘marine scientific research’

The scope of the competence to conduct marine scientific research under UNCLOS

General principles governing marine scientific research

The legal status of research installations and equipment

International co-operation in marine scientific research

Marine scientific research under regimes other than UNCLOS

Concluding observations

19The transfer of marine technology

Introduction

The transfer of marine technology under UNCLOS

Capacity-building

20Landlocked States and the law of the sea

Introduction

The navigational rights of landlocked States

The access of landlocked States to marine resources

The access of landlocked States to the sea

Conclusions

21Settlement of disputes

Settlement of disputes under general international law

Settlement of disputes under UNCLOS

General issues concerning dispute settlement

Index

List of figures

1Maritime zones

2The construction of baselines

3Categories of strait

4The 200-mile limit and continental margin

Series editor’s foreword

It is a great pleasure to introduce this new, much anticipated, edition of Robin Churchill and Vaughan Lowe’s The law of the sea in which they have been ably joined by Amy Sander as co-author. This is the authoritative and comprehensive English language exposition of the law of the sea during peacetime, which should become the standard work for both teaching and reference. This book has both a relevance and an attraction beyond the circle of international law students and scholars interested in or specialising in the law of the sea – for example, it should become the standard handbook for those interested in the international legal regulation of the marine environment, and the classification and content of maritime jurisdictional zones which coastal States may claim.

This is a much expanded version of the previous edition, which meticulously takes into account new developments and new concerns, while all the time maintaining a close eye on more traditional issues. It is both timeless and yet contemporary in its scope. It underlines the continuing legal importance of maritime issues in international affairs that more often than not may possess an acute political dimension, but which also have the potential to exert an acute and deleterious impact on the natural world, on biodiversity, and ultimately on humankind. One need only consider the possible eradication of unique site-specific environments and associated species as a result of deep-sea mining whose consequences are unfathomed; the threats posed to fish stocks and thus food security for much of the world’s maritime apex predators, and to the predators themselves, as well as for human populations dependent on fisheries; or the impact of climate change on island States.

Issues which have more traditionally been the focus of discussions about the law of the sea similarly have a revitalised relevance. Coastal States’ claims to maritime jurisdictional areas can be sites of current contention, such as disputes about entitlement to sovereign rights in or control over areas of the South China Sea, which are not simply tussles over coastal States’ control over hydrocarbons or fishing rights, but could also have ramifications for States’ claims of overflight and raise unease about shipping lanes vital to international trade, maritime security and freedom of navigation. All these concerns are exacerbated by the fabrication of maritime ‘territory’ by way of the creation of artificial islands, often based on bare rocks that sometimes, but not always, hardly poke above the surrounding sea and which are generally coupled with ungrounded claims to maritime jurisdiction, control and powers of exclusion.

The elaboration of the law of the sea, like many other areas of international law, has often involved compromise. This was inherent in the negotiating process of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea with its emphasis on a ‘package deal’ where States negotiated by consensus, making concessions on some issues with the aim of gaining perceived advantages in others. The process was also, to some extent, driven by ideological concerns redolent of the times, principally the aim to realise the objectives of the 1970s/1980s New International Economic Order and the redistribution of wealth from developed to developing States. These factors resulted in tensions within the text; for example, provision for outer continental shelf claims beyond 200 miles from a coastal State’s baselines may be seen to lie uneasily with the doctrine of the common heritage of humanity.

The 1982 Convention, which has been envisaged as a constitution of the oceans, is a product of its time, in places providing detailed regulation and in others a framework for future regulation, but naturally enough its authors could not fully anticipate contemporary concerns and emphases, if at all. Changed times bring different technological, economic and political contexts, challenges and realities to be addressed. Consider, for example, the stripped-down remainders of the deep-seabed mining regime contained in the 1994 Implementation Agreement, which was seen as necessary to ensure the participation of industrialised States in the regime and institutions of the Convention that they had declined to accept in 1982. Currently progress seems slow on the elaboration of environmental and liability regulations that would allow this mining to proceed. This is only one example of the augmentation of the 1982 Convention, and perhaps the most important example of this is the 1995 Fish Stocks Agreement, which develops its laconic and bare provisions on the conservation and management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks.

Accordingly, the exposition and analysis set out in this volume by necessity must go beyond the boundaries of the 1982 Convention. As the authors contend:

The law of the sea appears now to be entering a new, post-UNCLOS phase, in which the detailed and delicate balance between coastal State controls and the interests of flag States in preserving traditional freedoms of the seas is being overwritten by new principles and rules addressing the preoccupations of the States that see themselves as having major roles, and at least some responsibilities, in securing a satisfactory system of governance for the oceans. A salient characteristic of this phase is the decreasing importance of broad principles, such as coastal State sovereignty and the freedom of the high seas, and an increasing focus on the detailed rules that bind specific States – the international law equivalent, perhaps, of focusing on the fine print in contracts.

The dynamics of this process makes this new edition of this valued and acclaimed work timely as it seeks to place the 1982 Convention in its contemporary context of law and policy. The method employed is a close reliance on primary legal materials, which is supplemented by the citation of leading academic commentary. Accordingly, while the text offers a detailed in-depth analysis of the law of the sea, it also offers the reader the opportunity to read beyond the text by indicating suggestions for further research. The wealth of materials cited is quite simply breathtaking in its scope, demonstrating the expertise of the authors and their complete command of the field. The law of the sea is simply a masterly work of exposition, analysis and commentary. It is both lucid and erudite. We anticipate that this new edition, like previous editions, will influence legal thought and practice on this subject for many years to come.

Iain Scobbie

Preface

The aim of this new edition of this book, like that of the three previous editions, is to provide a broad introduction to the international law of the sea. In particular, the book seeks to outline and analyse the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and to explain their operation, as well as to give some account of the numerous treaties and provisions of customary international law that relate to it.

The previous edition of this book was published in 1999. Since then, there have been numerous and substantial developments in the law of the sea. The three institutions established by the 1982 Convention – the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, the International Seabed Authority and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea – which had only just begun to operate when the manuscript for the previous edition was completed, have all been active. So, too, have arbitral tribunals established in accordance with Annex VII of the Convention and, outside the dispute settlement framework of the Convention, the ICJ. Furthermore, many global and regional treaties relating to the law of the sea have been concluded, and an inter-governmental conference to draft an international legally binding instrument under the Convention on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond national jurisdiction has been convened and, at the time of writing, was still ongoing. All these developments have taken place against the backdrop of growing alarm about the state of the marine environment, and of the planet generally, caused by the increasingly adverse impact of human activities such as pollution, over-exploitation of natural resources, destruction of habitats, emissions of greenhouse gases and so on.

This new edition charts all these legal developments and tries to explain the wider context in which they have taken place. All the chapters have been thoroughly updated; some have been restructured; and a few have been almost completely rewritten. New chapters have been added on an introduction to protection of the marine environment and the conservation of marine biodiversity; and material on the transfer of marine technology has been hived off from the chapter on marine scientific research into a new chapter. The chapter on military uses of the sea, which appeared in all previous editions of this book, has been omitted, although some of the matters with which it dealt are now addressed in other chapters. As in previous editions, the references to sources of treaties and cases are given only in the tables of treaties and cases at the front of the book in order to avoid footnotes becoming too extensive. For the same reason, we have been sparing in our references to the now vast literature on the law of the sea. We can only offer our apologies to the authors of significant works that we have not cited. We have also excluded website references except for information that we consider could not be easily located using a search engine. In previous editions of this book, our abbreviation for the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was ‘LOSC’. However, in recent years ‘UNCLOS’ has increasingly come to be used as the abbreviation, and accordingly we now follow that practice.

All references to ‘miles’ in this book are to nautical miles. One nautical mile is approximately equivalent to 1.15 statute miles or 1.85 kilometres.

Robin Churchill and Vaughan Lowe have been fortunate to have been joined as co-authors for this edition by Amy Sander. Vaughan Lowe and Amy Sander drafted chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 21. Robin Churchill drafted chapters 2, 6, 9, 10 and 13–20. Each author revised their initial drafts to take account of the comments of the other authors on those drafts. Nevertheless, any expressions of opinion by one author may not necessarily be shared by the other authors. To the best of our ability, we have stated the law as at 1 May 2021. Website references were correct as at the same date.

In preparing this edition, we have received help from many people. In particular, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewer for her/his comments on the whole of the manuscript and Professor Alex Oude Elferink and Dr Solène Guggisberg for commenting on drafts of chapters 10 and 14, respectively. We would also like to thank our publishers, Manchester University Press, and particularly Dr Lucy Burns, for their assistance, courtesy and endless patience as deadlines kept being missed. We are especially grateful to our families for all their support.

Robin Churchill

Vaughan Lowe

Amy Sander

May 2021

Abbreviations

Table of cases

Cases are listed alphabetically by court or tribunal. Most of the cases listed below are available online.

Permanent Court of International Justice

Case of the S.S. ‘Lotus’ (France/Turkey), PCIJ Rep., Series A, No. 10 (1927) 128, 381–2

Mavrommatis Palestine Concessions, PCIJ Rep., Series A, No. 2 (1924) 855

Territorial Jurisdiction of the International Commission of the River Oder, PCIJ Rep., Series A, No. 23 (1929) 118

International Court of Justice

Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey), Interim Measures of Protection, Order [1976] ICJ Rep. 3 363

Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey), Jurisdiction [1978] ICJ Rep. 3 309

Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia) (pending) 71

Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar), Provisional Measures, Order [2020] ICJ Rep. (not yet reported) 449, 876

Application of the Interim Accord of 13 September 1995 (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia v. Greece) [2011] ICJ Rep. 644 857

Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation), Preliminary Objections, [2011] ICJ Rep. 70 322, 561

Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela) (pending) 857, 862

Certain Activities carried out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) and Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica) [2015] ICJ Rep. 665 610–11

Certain Questions of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Djibouti v. France) [2008] ICJ Rep. 177 862

Constitution of the Maritime Safety Committee of the Inter-governmental Maritime Consultative Organization, Advisory Opinion [1960] ICJ Rep. 150 468

Continental Shelf (Libya/Malta) [1985] ICJ Rep. 13 33, 227, 256, 293, 309, 320, 326, 329, 351

Continental Shelf (Tunisia/Libya) [1982] ICJ Rep. 18 111, 168–70, 309, 320

Corfu Channel (United Kingdom v. Albania) Preliminary Objection [1948] ICJ Rep. 15 862

Corfu Channel (United Kingdom v. Albania) [1949] ICJ Rep. 4 143–4, 150, 855, 870

Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary in the Gulf of Maine Area (Canada/USA) [1984] ICJ Rep. 246 309, 328–9, 336, 861

Fisheries (United Kingdom v. Norway) [1951] ICJ Rep. 116 14, 54, 65–9, 109, 112, 138, 141, 188, 870

Fisheries Jurisdiction (Spain v. Canada) [1998] ICJ Rep. 432 525, 533

Fisheries Jurisdiction (United Kingdom v. Iceland), Jurisdiction [1973] ICJ Rep. 3 140–1, 862

Fisheries Jurisdiction (Federal Republic of Germany v. Iceland) [1974] ICJ Rep. 175 265, 563

Fisheries Jurisdiction (United Kingdom v. Iceland) [1974] ICJ Rep. 3 33, 265, 523

Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Mali) [1986] ICJ Rep. 554 16

Gabčikovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary v. Slovakia) [1997] ICJ Rep. 7 609, 616

Guatemala’s Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim (Guatemala/Belize) (pending) 308

Land and Maritime Boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria (Cameroon v. Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea intervening) [2002] ICJ Rep. 303 308, 322, 327, 329, 332, 335–6, 338, 342

Land and Maritime Delimitation and Sovereignty over Islands (Gabon/Equatorial Guinea) (pending) 308, 325

Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute (El Salvador/Honduras, Nicaragua intervening) [1992] ICJ Rep. 351 80, 82, 84, 309, 861

Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, Advisory Opinion [2019] ICJ Rep. 95 16

Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion [1996] ICJ Rep. 226 609

Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain (Qatar v. Bahrain) [2001] ICJ Rep. 40 62, 71, 75, 90, 92–3, 142, 308, 313–14, 327, 330–2, 336–7, 339–40, 346, 349–52, 354–5, 368–9

Maritime Delimitation between Guinea-Bissau and Senegal (Guinea-Bissau v. Senegal) (discontinued, 1995) 309

Maritime Delimitation in the Area between Greenland and Jan Mayen (Denmark v. Norway) [1993] ICJ Rep. 38 309, 318–21, 326, 329

Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine) [2009] ICJ Rep. 61 31, 51, 87, 106, 308, 323, 325, 327, 329–33, 338, 340–2

Maritime Delimitation in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) [2018] ICJ Rep. 100 57, 97, 104, 308, 312–13, 315, 327, 330, 334, 337–8, 340, 862

Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya) (Judgment on the merits pending); Preliminary Objections [2017] ICJ Rep. 3 139, 235, 307, 322, 347, 865, 870

Maritime Dispute (Peru v. Chile) [2014] ICJ Rep. 3 43, 139, 294, 308, 325, 327, 330, 335–6, 338, 342, 870

Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. USA) [1986] ICJ Rep. 14 13, 114, 116, 143, 175

North Sea Continental Shelf (Federal Republic of Germany/Denmark; Federal Republic of Germany/Netherlands) [1969] ICJ Rep. 3 3, 36, 225, 228, 309, 319–22, 561, 848–9, 856–7, 862, 870

Nuclear Tests (Australia v. France) [1974] ICJ Rep. 253 16, 379, 861, 876

Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile) [2018] ICJ Rep. 507 841–2, 857, 862

Passage through the Great Belt (Finland v. Denmark), Provisional Measures, Order [1991] ICJ Rep. 12 178, 266

Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina v. Uruguay) [2010] ICJ Rep. 14 485, 610, 619

Question of the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 nautical miles from the Nicaraguan Coast (Nicaragua v. Colombia) (Judgment on the merits pending), Preliminary Objections [2016] ICJ Rep. 100 237, 247, 250, 308, 347, 352

Questions of Interpretation and Application of the 1971 Montreal Convention arising from the Aerial Incident at Lockerbie (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya v. United Kingdom) Provisional Measures, Order [1992] ICJ Rep. 3 32

Questions relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite (Belgium v. Senegal) [2012] ICJ Rep. 422 876

Request for an Examination of the Situation in accordance with Paragraph 63 of the Court’s Judgment of 20 December 1974 in the Nuclear Tests (New Zealand v. France) Case, Order [1995] ICJ Rep. 288 379

Right of Passage over Indian Territory (Portugal v. India) [1960] ICJ Rep. 6 848

Territorial and Maritime Dispute between Nicaragua and Honduras in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Honduras) [2007] ICJ Rep. 659 104, 237, 308, 312, 314–15, 330–1, 344, 346

Territorial and Maritime Dispute (Nicaragua v. Colombia) [2012] ICJ Rep. 624 33, 43, 62, 90, 92–3, 98, 139, 230, 236–7, 308, 325, 327, 330, 332, 334, 337, 338–41, 346, 870

Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan, New Zealand intervening) [2014] ICJ Rep. 226 766–8, 784, 812, 861, 876

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

‘ARA Libertad’ (Argentina v. Ghana), Provisional Measures, Order [2012] ITLOS Rep. 332 123, 164, 869

‘Arctic Sunrise’ (Kingdom of the Netherlands v. Russian Federation), Provisional Measures, Order [2013] ITLOS Rep. 230 117, 260

‘Camouco’ (Panama v. France), Prompt Release [2000] ITLOS Rep. 10 547

Conservation and Sustainable Exploitation of Swordfish Stocks in the South-Eastern Pacific Ocean (Chile v. European Union) (discontinued, 2009) 874

Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean (Ghana/Côte d’Ivoire) [2017] ITLOS Rep. 4 226, 249–50, 308, 315, 322, 325, 330–1, 338, 340, 346, 349–51, 356, 359–63, 869, 874

Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean (Ghana/Côte d’Ivoire), Provisional Measures, Order [2015] ITLOS Rep. 146 239, 363–4, 609, 614, 619, 684–5

Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius/Maldives) (Judgment on the merits pending); Preliminary Objections [2021] ITLOS Rep. (not yet reported) 308, 322, 324, 352, 866, 874

Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary in the Bay of Bengal (Bangladesh/Myanmar) [2012] ITLOS Rep. 4 230–1, 237, 246–7, 249, 259, 308, 312, 316, 323, 327, 330–1, 333–4, 336–7, 339, 340, 342, 344–6, 349–51, 352, 354–5, 874

Detention of Three Ukrainian Naval Vessels (Ukraine v. Russian Federation), Provisional Measures, Order [2019] ITLOS Rep. (not yet reported) 123, 864, 868

‘Enrica Lexie’ Incident (Italy v. India), Provisional Measures, Order [2015] ITLOS Rep. 182 872

‘Grand Prince’ (Belize v. France), Prompt Release [2001] ITLOS Rep. 17 469

‘Hoshinmaru’ (Japan v. Russian Federation), Prompt Release [2005–7] ITLOS Rep. 18 547

Land Reclamation by Singapore in and around the Straits of Johor (Malaysia v. Singapore), Provisional Measures, Order [2003] ITLOS Rep. 10 60, 611–12, 614, 619, 872

‘Monte Confurco’ (Seychelles v. France), Prompt Release [2000] ITLOS Rep. 86 546

MOX Plant (Ireland v. United Kingdom), Provisional Measures, Order [2001] ITLOS Rep. 95 611, 614, 619, 701

M/V ‘Louisa’ (St Vincent and the Grenadines v. Spain) [2013] ITLOS Rep. 4 117, 207, 546

M/V ‘Norstar’ (Panama v. Italy), Preliminary Objections [2016] ITLOS Rep. 44 464, 863–4

M/V ‘Norstar’ (Panama v. Italy) [2019] ITLOS Rep. (not yet reported) 111, 117, 128, 208, 272, 293, 373, 377, 381, 408, 855

M/V ‘Saiga’ (No. 1) (St Vincent and the Grenadines v. Guinea) [1997] ITLOS Rep. 16 117, 272

M/V ‘Saiga’ (No. 2) (St Vincent and the Grenadines v. Guinea) [1999] ITLOS Rep. 10 42, 218, 220, 271–2, 278, 295, 389, 403, 406–7, 457, 464, 468–9, 471, 855, 874–5

M/T ‘San Padre Pio’ (Switzerland v. Nigeria), Provisional Measures, Order [2019] ITLOS Rep. (not yet reported) 117, 273, 290

M/T ‘San Padre Pio’ (No. 2) (Switzerland v. Nigeria) (pending) 290, 849, 874

M/V ‘Virginia G’ (Panama v. Guinea-Bissau) [2014] ITLOS Rep. 4 263, 272, 293, 295, 464, 468–70, 532–3, 543–8, 855

Request for an Advisory Opinion by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission, Advisory Opinion [2015] ITLOS Rep. 4 5, 277–8, 474, 485, 533, 539, 549, 552–5, 562, 619, 627, 719–20, 873

Responsibilities and Obligations of States with respect to Activities in the Area, Advisory Opinion [2011] ITLOS Rep. 10 5, 424–5, 440, 442, 445–9, 485, 549, 609–11, 613–14, 620, 697–8, 873, 876

Southern Bluefin Tuna Cases (New Zealand v. Japan; Australia v. Japan), Provisional Measures, Order [1999] ITLOS Rep. 280 539, 614, 627, 872

‘Tomimaru’ (Japan v. Russian Federation), Prompt Release [2005–07] ITLOS Rep. 74 470–1

‘Volga’ Case (Russian Federation v. Australia), Prompt Release [2002] ITLOS Rep. 10 406–7, 547

Arbitral Awards under Annex VII of UNCLOS

Arbitration between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago (2006), PCA Case No. 2004-02, RIAA XXVII (2008), 147 247, 308, 316, 323–4, 327, 329, 336, 338–9, 342, 344, 538, 865, 867

Arbitration between Guyana and Suriname (2007), PCA Case No. 2004-04, RIAA XXX (2012), 1 226, 308, 313–14, 327, 329, 338, 356–63, 389

Arctic Sunrise Arbitration (Netherlands v. Russia), PCA Case No. 2014-02, Award on Jurisdiction (2014), RIAA XXXII (2019), 185 868

Arctic Sunrise Arbitration (Netherlands v. Russia), PCA Case No. 2014-02, Award on the Merits (2015), RIAA XXXII (2019), 205 207, 244–6, 259–60, 264, 268–9, 273, 277–8, 289–90, 377, 386, 406–9, 464, 855, 864, 874

Atlanto-Scandian Herring Arbitration (Denmark in respect of the Faroe Islands v. European Union) Termination Order (2014), PCA Case No. 2013-30 556

Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary Arbitration (Bangladesh v. India) (2014), PCA Case No. 2010-16, RIAA XXXII (2019), 1 58, 106, 237, 247, 259, 308, 313–14, 327, 330–2, 336–40, 346, 349–52, 354–5, 368–9

Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitration (Mauritius v. United Kingdom) (2015), PCA Case No. 2011-03, RIAA XXXI (2018), 365 134, 240, 261, 286–90, 297, 378, 528, 538, 570, 624–5, 627, 721, 743, 864, 866–7

Dispute concerning Coastal State Rights in the Black Sea, Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait (Ukraine v. Russian Federation), Preliminary Objections (2020), PCA Case No. 2017-06 178, 863, 875

Duzgit Integrity Arbitration (Malta v. São Tomé and Príncipe) (2016), PCA Case No. 2014-07 142, 149, 163, 192, 246, 464, 656, 855

‘Enrica Lexie’ Incident (Italy v. India) (2020), PCA Case No. 2015-28 219, 271, 277–8, 281, 289, 293, 295, 378, 380–3, 391, 403, 464, 469

MOX Plant (Ireland v. United Kingdom), Termination of Proceedings, Order No. 6 (2008), PCA Case No. 2002-01 611, 701, 864

South China Sea (Philippines v. China), Jurisdiction and Admissibility (2015), PCA Case No. 2013-19, RIAA XXXIII (2020) 1 730, 863–5

South China Sea (Philippines v. China) (2016), PCA Case No. 2013-19, RIAA XXXIII (2020) 153 4, 5, 35, 56, 60–2, 74–5, 81–2, 110–11, 134, 139, 241–2, 267–8, 286–7, 290, 416, 461, 485, 508–9, 529–31, 549, 597, 609–12, 619, 627, 719–22, 862, 868, 876–7

Southern Bluefin Tuna Cases (Australia v. Japan; New Zealand v. Japan), Jurisdiction and Admissibility (2000), RIAA XXIII (2006), 1 864

Other Arbitral Awards

Aramco v. Saudi Arabia (1958), 27 ILR 117 112–13

Araunah Arbitration (1888), Moore, Int. Arb., Vol. I, 824 207

Bering Fur Seals Arbitration (Great Britain v. USA) (1893), RIAA XXVIII (2006), 263 525

Creole (1853), Moore, Int. Arb., Vol. IV, 4375 115, 126

Croatia/Slovenia Arbitration (2017), PCA Case No. 2012-04 84–5, 110, 148, 308, 313, 859

The David, Compañia de Navegación Nacional (Panama v. USA) (1933), RIAA VI (2006), 382 160

Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between France and the United Kingdom (1977), RIAA XVIII (2006), 3 92, 109, 309, 318, 320, 859

Delimitation of Maritime Areas between Canada and France (1992), RIAA XXI (2006), 265 309, 328, 344

Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Guinea and Guinea-Bissau (1985), RIAA XIX (2006), 147 309, 328

Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Guinea-Bissau and Senegal (1989), RIAA XX (2006), 119 309, 325

Dispute between Argentina and Chile concerning the Beagle Channel (1977), RIAA XX1 (2006), 53 305, 309, 313

Dispute concerning Access to Information under Article 9 of the OSPAR Convention (Ireland v. United Kingdom) (2003), PCA Case No. 2001-03, RIAA XXIII (2006), 59 707, 860

Dispute concerning Filleting within the Gulf of St Laurence (La Bretagne) (Canada/France) (1986), RIAA XIX (2006) 225 (French text only); 82 ILR 627 (English text) 295, 543

Dubai/Sharjah Border Arbitration (1981), 91 ILR 543 87, 309

Eritrea v. Yemen Arbitration, First Stage (Territorial Sovereignty and Scope of the Dispute) (1998), PCA Case No. 1996-04, RIAA XXII (2006), 211 529

Eritrea v. Yemen Arbitration, Second Stage (Maritime Delimitation) (1999), PCA Case No. 1996-04, RIAA XXII (2006), 335 68, 93, 308, 312, 328, 367, 529

Grisbådarna (Norway/Sweden) (1909), PCA Case No. 1908-01, RIAA XI (2006), 147 141, 309, 313–14

I’m Alone (Canada, USA) (1935), RIAA III (2006), 1609 405

Iron Rhine Arbitration (Belgium/Netherlands) (2005), PCA Case No. 2003-02, RIAA XVII (2008), 35 616, 849

Kate A. Hoff, Administratrix of the Estate of Samuel B. Allison, Deceased (USA) v. Mexico (The Rebecca) (1929), RIAA IV (2006), 444 115, 126

Muscat Dhows (France, Great Britain) (1905), PCA Case No. 1904-01, RIAA XI (2006), 83 464

North Atlantic Coast Fisheries (Great Britain, United States of America) (1910), PCA Case No. 1909-01, RIAA XI (2006), 167 150

Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Ltd. v. Sheikh of Abu Dhabi (1951), 18 ILR 144 225

Savarkar (Great Britain, France) (1911), PCA Case No. 1910-03, RIAA XI (2006), 243 156

WTO Panel Report

WTO, Colombia: Indicative Prices and Restrictions on Ports of Entry – Report of the Panel (2009) WT/DS366/R, www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds366_e.htm 117, 183, 838

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Case IT-96-23-T (2001), www.icty.org/x/cases/kunarac/tjug/en/kun-tj010222e.pdf 398

Central American Court of Justice

El Salvador v. Nicaragua, AJIL 11 (1917), 674 84

European Court of Human Rights

Medvedyev and Others v. France, Application No. 3394/03, Grand Chamber (2010), ECHR Reports 2010-III, 61 215, 388, 401, 546

Women on the Waves v. Portugal, Application No. 31276/05, Judgment (2009), https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-91046%22]} 148

Other Regional Human Rights Bodies

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, The Social and Economic Rights Action Centre and the Centre for Economic and Social Rights v. Nigeria, ACHPR No. 155/96 (2001), https://africanlii.org/afu/judgment/african-commission-human-and-peoples-rights/2001/34 607

Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Advisory Opinion OC-23/17 (2017), www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/opiniones/seriea_23_ing.pdf 607

Court of Justice of the European Union

Air Transport Association of America and Others v. Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Case C-366/10 [2011] ECR I-13755 477

Commission v. Netherlands, Case C-299/02 [2004] ECR I-9761 473

Council of the European Union v. European Commission, Case C-73/14 ECLI:EU:C:2015:663 874

R. ex p. International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko) v. Secretary of State for Transport, Case C-308/06 [2008] ECR 4057 4

SIOT v. Ministre delle Finanze, Case 266/81 [1983] ECR 731 844

Reports of Conciliation Commissions

Conciliation Commission on the Continental Shelf Area between Iceland and Norway: Report and Recommendations to the Governments of Iceland and Norway (1981), RIAA XXVII (2006), 1 305, 859

In the Matter of a Conciliation between the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Commonwealth of Australia, Decision on Australia’s Objection to Competence (2016), PCA Case No. 2016-10 306, 864, 868

Report and Recommendations of the Compulsory Conciliation Commission between Timor-Leste and Australia in the Timor Sea (2018), PCA Case No. 2016-10 306, 868

Reports of Commissions of Inquiry

Investigation of Certain Incidents affecting the British trawler Red Crusader, Report (1962) RIAA XXIX (2012), 521 858

Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident (2011) https://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/world/Palmer-Committee-Final-report.pdf 858

National Courts

Australia

CPCF v. Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2015] HCA 1 215, 219

New South Wales v. The Commonwealth (1975), 8 ALR 1 136

Queen v. Tang [2008] HCA 39 398

Belgium

Castle John and Nederlandse Stichting Sirius v. NV Mabeco and NV Parfin (1986), 77 ILR 537 386

Sverre (1907), P. C. Jessup, The Law of Territorial Waters and Maritime Jurisdiction (New York: Jennings, 1927), 160 124

Watson (1856), P. C. Jessup, The Law of Territorial Waters and Maritime Jurisdiction (New York: Jennings, 1927), 67 124

Canada

Cushin and Lewis v. R. (1935) L. R. Ex. C. R. 103 126

R. v. Sunila and Soleyman (1986) 28 DLR (4th) 450 208, 408

Re Attorney-General of Canada and Attorney-General of British Columbia (1984) 8 DLR (4th) 161 136

Reference re Mineral and Other Natural Resources of the Continental Shelf (1983) 90 ILR 234 136, 226

Reference re Offshore Mineral Rights of British Columbia (1967) 65 DLR (2d.) 353 136

Costa Rica

State v. Dave Johnson Plazen (1927), Annual Digest of Public International Law Cases 1927–28, Case No. 99 124

France

Carlo-Alberto (1832), Sirey, Jurisprudence 1, 664 126

Cordoba (1912), Revue de Droit International Privé 8 (1912), 636 124

The Johmo (Ministre d’Etat v. Starr et British Commonwealth Insurance Co.) (1970), RGDIP 74 (1970), 1114 125, 133

The Sally and the Newton (1806), 126 Bulletin des lois 602; also reproduced in K. R. Simmonds (ed.), Cases on the Law of the Sea (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana, 1976), Vol. I, 77–8 125, 854

Tempest (1859), 1 Dalloz, Jurisprudence générale 88 123

Ireland

ACT Shipping (Pte) Ltd v. The Minister for the Marine Ireland and the Attorney General [1995] 3 Irish Reports 426 116, 659

Italy

Re Pulos and others (1976) 77 ILR 587 208

Redstart (1895), P. C. Jessup, The Law of Territorial Waters and Maritime Jurisdiction (New York: Jennings, 1927), 67 124

Sito (1957) Journal de Droit International 89 (1962), 113 207

Kenya

Hassan M Ahmed v. Republic [2009] eKLR 389

Mexico

Public Minister v. Jensen (1894), P. C. Jessup, The Law of Territorial Waters and Maritime Jurisdiction (New York: Jennings, 1927), 67 124

Netherlands

Attican Unity (1986), 101 ILR 436 164

Cygnus Case (Somali Pirates) (2010), 145 ILR 491 389

Guangzhou Shipping Company v. Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management (Long Lin), NYIL 27 (1996), 354 116, 659

State of the Netherlands v. Stichtung Urgenda (2019), https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:HR:2019:2007 608

New Zealand

Sellers v. Maritime Safety Inspector [1999] 2 NZLR 44 477

Norway

A and SIA North Star Ltd. v. Public Prosecution Authority (2019), HR-2019-282-S, English translation https://lovdata.no/dokument/HRENG/avgjorelse/hr-2019-282-s-eng 248

Philippines

Prof. Merlin M. Magallona et al. v. Hon. Eduardo Ermita et al. G.R. No. 187167 (2011), http://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/29267 202

United Kingdom/Great Britain/England

Attorney General v. Bates (The Case of Impositions) (1606), 2 State Trials 371 113

Le Louis (1817) 165 ER 1464 207

Molvan v. A. G. for Palestine [1948] AC 351 404

Mortensen v. Peters 14 SLT 227 465, 853

Parlement Belge (1878–79) 4 P.D. 129 (1880) 5 PD 197 132

Post Office v. Estuary Radio Ltd. [1968] 2 QB 740 80, 85, 854

R. v. Keyn (The Franconia) (1876) 2 Ex. D. 63 131–3

R. v. Mills (unreported, Croydon Crown Court, 1995) (ICLQ 44 (1995), 949–58) 208, 408

The Anna (1805) 165 ER 809 137

USA

Alaska v. United States (2005), 545 United States Reports 75 110

Brig Concord (1815), 13 United States Reports 387 126

Cunard SS Co v. Mellon (1923), 262 United States Reports 100 125

Haitian Centers Council Inc. v. McNary (1992), 969 F. 2d 1350 (2d. Cir. 1992) 411

Institute of Cetacean Research et al. v. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (2013), U.S. App. LEXIS 10717 (9th Cir. 24 May 2013) 396

McCulloch v. National Labor Relations Board (1963), 34 ILR 51 121

Patterson v. Bark Eudora (1903), 190 United States Reports 169 114

People v. Wong Cheng (1922), Annual Digest of Public International Law Cases 1919–22, Case No. 73 124

Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd (2005), 545 United States Reports 119 121

Taiyo Maru (1974), 395 F. Supp. 413 218

US v. Alaska (1996), 521 United States Reports 1 82

US v. California (1947), 332 United States Reports 19 136

US v. California (1977), 432 United States Reports 40 88

US v. Gonzalez (1985), 776 F. 2d 931 218

US v. Louisiana (1950), 339 United States Reports 1 136

US v. Louisiana (1969), 394 United States Reports 11 103

US v. Louisiana (1985), 470 United States Reports 93 82

US v. Maine (1975), 420 United States Reports 515 136

US v. Marino-Garcia 679 F. 2d 1373 (1982), cert. denied 459 United States Reports 1114 (1983) 405

US v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., 11 F Supp 2d 1358 (1998) (DC, South Florida) 653

US v. Texas (1950), 339 United States Reports 707 136

US v. Tinoco, 304 F. 3d 1088 (11th Cir. 2002), No. 01-11012 405

US v. Wildenhus (1887), 120 United States Reports 1 123–5

Table of treaties

Treaties are listed in chronological order of adoption/signature. Protocols, regardless of their date, are included with their parent conventions. The UN Treaty Series, which is given as the source of many of the treaties in this table, is available online at https://treaties.un.org/Pages/Content.aspx?path=DB/UNTS/pageIntro_en.xml

Treaties concluded before 1914

Treaties concluded 1918–39

Treaties concluded 1940–73