The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) entered into force in November 1994. This insightful book offers in-depth appraisals of the contributions of jurisprudence to this major achievement of international law, tracing the impact that courts and tribunals have had on the development and clarification of various provisions of UNCLOS over the past quarter-century.
"The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) organized the 'UNCLOS at 30' conference on 22-23 November 2012 in Belfast, which inspired the launching of this book project. All of the contributing authors spoke at the conference...and most of their chapters have evolved from their presentations"--Page vii.
Definitions for the Law of the Sea elucidates undefined terms and phrases used in The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) itself, as well as terms used in its analysis. Based on nearly a decade of work by the American Branch of the International Law Association’s Law of the Sea Committee, the volume provides clear definitions based on usage in the Convention, rather than geographical or geological concepts. Over 200 terms are defined in the text, alongside analyses and commentary prepared by prominent experts in the field of oceans law. Abbreviated citation forms used throughout the volume are clarified, and relevant documents are included with updated references. Definitions for the Law of the Sea is an indispensable source for governmental officials, academics and practitioners of oceans law, and serves as a supplement to the multi-volume United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982: A Commentary.
These commentaries are based almost entirely on the formal and informal documentation of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III, 1973-1982), coupled, where necessary, with the personal knowledge of editors, contributors, or reviewers, many of whom were principal negotiators or UN personnel who participated in the Conference.
This book addresses current developments concerning the interpretation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the part of international courts and tribunals. It does so from different perspectives, by focusing on the jurisprudence of international and regional bodies, such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), as well as international arbitral tribunals and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body. The various contributions offer in-depth analyses of issues ranging from the interaction between the sources of the International Law of the Sea, to various substantial, procedural and institutional aspects of the regulatory framework established by UNCLOS. The book also focuses on the reference by international courts and tribunals, in Law of the Sea cases, to both general principles and rules concerning interpretation codified in the Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties.
The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has been frequently referred to as the ‘constitution for the oceans’ and as one of the most important events in the history of modern international law. Representing one of the treaties most widely accepted by the international community, the adoption of the Convention had a long and difficult passage, explained in part by the varied and often irreconcilable interests at stake during the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. In this context, one of the primary merits of the Convention is its successful accommodation of the interests involved, an accomplishment which has contributed to the view that the Convention constitutes one of the major compromises in the history of international treaty law-making. A detailed dispute settlement system represents a significant achievement of the Convention, an aspect on which Dispute Resolution in the Law of the Sea focuses. The book aims at examining the resolution of disputes which have emerged since the Convention’s entry into force and at analyzing the role of compulsory procedures entailing binding decisions through the prism of general international law and jurisprudence. An overall evaluation of the effectiveness of the functioning of the dispute settlement system under the Convention is presented and annexes offer a compendium of the LOSC-related disputes together with various means involved in their resolution as well as maritime delimitation agreements and the provisional arrangements negotiated by States.
This work looks at topics, which can contribute to an understanding of how the Convention has been adapted to newly arising issues and how further adaptation may be achieved in the future, without a readjustment of the basic legal framework contained in the Convention.
"The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Part XI Regime and the International Seabed Authority: A Twenty-Five Year Journey, adopts a unique multidisciplinary approach by focusing on the legal, scientific, and economic perspectives of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the Convention. Central to its theme is raising awareness of the important role of the International Seabed Authority and how much it has achieved over the last 25 years in creating a regime for deep seabed mining. Through the rich and wide range of contributions, readers will be able to draw interesting new insight into the Authority's evolutionary work as well as its legal framework"--
These commentaries are based almost entirely on the formal and informal documentation of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III, 1973-1982), coupled, where necessary, with the personal knowledge of editors, contributors, or reviewers, many of whom were principal negotiators or UN personnel who participated in the Conference.
