Chapters throughout this book assess the roles and impact upon oceans management of the institutions both inside and outside the Convention's framework, as well as the United Nations General Assembly as concerns its coordinating role in the field of oceans and law of the sea. Questions addressed concern the interpretation of the Convention's substantive provisions and how these various institutions interact. The impetus to resolve these and other challenges in the law of the sea and oceans management will ensure the law of the sea's continuing evolution in the years ahead.
South Africa and the Law of the Sea brings together the many threads of the rich South African marine-law tapestry by covering both the public international law as context and the details of South African marine law and policy within their African framework.
The Third Conference on the Law of the Sea marked a watershed in the emergence of African diplomatic and legal activities within the international system. Analysis of those states' participation therefore not only provides a template for the study of bloc activity at this level; it also adds the comprehensive analysis of African participation at UNCLOS III and, finally, it should also reveal the means by which states can more effectively impact global political and legislative processes. This study evaluates the extent to which the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) concept represents an attempt by African states to allot to international law the task of correcting inequities between nations, and the future implications of such linkage. It critically explores and analyzes the conceptual framework that initiated action by African states in UNCLOS III, and it examines their attempts to operationalize this framework by their substantive participation in the negotiations. Finally, the study explores the future implications of African activity in the international legal and political system. In this evaluative process the author suggests the need for greater insight in conceptualizing the role of African states as a bloc within the international system. Only in this manner can a better appreciation be had of the important role African states are playing as contributors in the formation of contemporary international law.
This book seeks to fill a gap in the existing literature by examining the role of African States in the development and establishment of the regime of the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction (the Area) and the concept of the Common Heritage of Mankind.
