Search: UNCLOS
17 Jun The Case of Enrica Lexie: Lotus Redux?
...flag-state or that of the nationality of the accused crew. UNCLOS Article 97 establishes that rule for incidents on the high seas (which this doesn’t seem to be) and even then only for cases of a collision or any other incident of navigation.” But, this was a shooting not a collision, and I don’t see the navigational incident argument either. Thus, I don’t think Article 97 limits prescriptive jurisdiction to the flag state — Italy — or that of the accused (also Italy). Nor do I think the SUA Convention...04 Nov Guest Post: Friction in the Cyprus EEZ: Analyzing Conflicting Claims under the Law of the Sea
Ian Henderson Dear Nikolaos, Thank you for the very interesting and informative post. Certainly a complex part of the world. Articles 19, 21, 40 and 54 of the UNCLOS make it clear that hydrographic surveys would require the permission of the coastal State(s) during innocent passage, transit passage and archipelagic sealanes passage. Can you please advise why the conduct of seismic surveys within the continental shelf and the EEZ of another State are contrary to international law? Is there a part of UNCLOS that I have overlooked or is it...04 Jan East China Sea dispute: what is the Role of International Law?
...Last week, Korea made a partial submission to the Commission seeking to identify the outer limits of Korea’s continental shelf, which, unsurprisingly, overlap with China’s claim. The map here is illustrative. Moreover, in a note dated December 28, 2012, Japan asked the Commission not to consider China’s submission because the distance between the coasts in the area covered by the submission is less than 400 nautical miles, and pursuant to UNCLOS Article 83, the delimitation must be effected by agreement of the parties. As a result, Japan is maintaining its...05 Mar Cote D’Ivoire Seeks Provisional Measures Order from ITLOS To Stop Oil Exploration in Disputed Waters
...any oil exploration activities while the matter is before the ITLOS special chamber. Under UNCLOS Article 290, a court or tribunal with jurisdiction is empowered to issue provisional measures “which it considers appropriate under the circumstances to preserve the respective rights of the parties to the dispute or to prevent serious harm to the marine environment, pending the final decision.” I haven’t been privy to the papers filed in this case, but it does seem like Cote D’Ivoire should have a pretty reasonable provisional measures claim. Indeed, the UK oil...
10 Nov Security Challenges in the Black Sea: Military Exercise or a Navy Blockade? Analysis of the Russian Navy Activities in Bulgaria’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Black Sea
...blockade, which was considered nearly extinct, has been resurrected as a crucial element in Russia’s strategy against Ukraine. The exercise of the “visit and search” right by Russia further complicates the situation, posing a threat for NATO members in the region like Bulgaria, Romania and Türkiye. According to Article 57 of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), merchant ships passing through the exclusive economic zones shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles, or otherwise will find themselves in a dangerous position. This is because as...18 Sep Article II Treaty-Making: Alive and Well?
...3 multilateral counter-terrorism treaties (the Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, two SUA Protocols); Amendments to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials; 2 Amendments to the ITU’s Radio Regulations; and, of course, UNCLOS, along with the Agreement to fix Part XI I doubt that all 78 pending treaties will get advice and consent in the remaining few months of the 110th Congress (indeed, UNCLOS and the accompanying Part XI Agreement are quite unlikely to do so). But, I will bet that a substantial majority do...
17 Apr ‘Occupant’ Status for China in South China Sea Islands?
[Nguyen, Quoc Tan Trung is a PhD candidate at University of Victoria, Canada and lecturer on public international law in Vietnam. He currently pursues research interests including international legal framework on non-recognition, use of force and human rights.] [https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7293-1822] Photo credit: Reuters The South China Sea arbitration award between the Philippines and China clearly favours the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Philippines’ argument. From rejecting artificial islands that China has been furiously building are entitled to have the 200 nautical...13 Nov Small Sovereign Archipelago Seeks New, Elevated Homeland
...Maldives’ sovereignty and sovereign rights when its existing territory falls below sea level? Would islands cease to be islands under the law of the sea (see article 121 of UNCLOS)? That’s an important question regardless of their habitability since the existence of land territory dictates the scope of a state’s sovereignty over its territorial sea as well as its sovereign rights in an exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, all of which may still contain valuable natural resources. UNCLOS Articles 60 and 80 allow for a state to construct...24 Jan Has China Rejected the Philippines Arbitration Already? Not yet.
This article from the Global Times, a hawkish state-controlled newspaper in China, probably reflects a little bit of the official Chinese view on the Philippines UNCLOS claim. It also contains this troubling bit of analysis, from a Chinese scholar: The international court would not take the case without agreements from all parties involved, Dong Manyuan, a researcher at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times. Uh, yes, that’s true in a general sense. But China has already agreed to allow an Article 287 arbitral tribunal to take...