Category: Baselines, the territorial sea and the contiguous zone

Contiguous zone 1. Development of the concept of a contiguous zone When states began to make extensive claims for a territorial sea for a variety of purposes, including the safety and security of their land territory, the idea of a contiguous zone was conceived. It was conceived as a buffer between the high seas, where...

Right of innocent and transit passage 1. Nature and meaning of innocent passage The 1982 Convention defines the meaning of passage itself prior to defining the meaning of innocent passage. Article 18 reads as follows:  Article 18 Meaning of passage 1. Passage means navigation through the territorial sea for the purpose of: a. traversing that...

Territorial sea 1. Concept of a territorial sea The concept of a territorial sea has a long history. Those who opposed the idea of a closed sea (mare clausum) in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries did so relying on, inter alia, the argument that states should not be allowed to claim sovereign rights over a...

Law on drawing baselines 1. Background to the law The seas and oceans of the world had long been subject to the freedom-of-the-seas doctrine. This was a principle put forth in the seventeenth century with a view mainly to limiting national rights and jurisdiction over the seas and oceans to a narrow belt of sea...