LL.D. / The sea plays a pivotal role in the political, economical and social function of individual states and the international community as a whole. The need for the proper management of the sea and its natural resources has become more important than ever before to ensure the continued existence of mankind. The law of the sea, traditionally, rests mainly on two pillars, namely the principle that the sea is res communes and the principle of the freedom of the sea. Because the sea covers seventy percent of the surface of the earth it is, in particular, an area where conflict between states occur. The peaceful settlement of international disputes is therefore of vital importance to maintain and strengthen peace amongst nations. The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which only came into force on 16 November 1994, is an evolutionary international instrument that can aptly be described as a constitution for all uses of the sea. The convention created a sustained normative framework with new rights and obligations through the establishment of the common heritage of mankind, the exclusive economic zone and archipelago states. Provision is also made for the inclusion of new international organisations such as the International Seabed Authority, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.Because the 1982 Convention demarcates the borders of the various maritime zones, which falls within the sovereignty and jurisdiction of states, it contributes in the effort to balance the competing rights of the freedom of the sea, on the one hand, and the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of 601 coastal states, on the other hand, that included claims to territorial waters, the continental shelf, and the establishment of the common heritage of mankind and the exclusive economic zone. The convention also contains comprehensive rules for the settlement of disputes emanating from the various uses of the sea. The most significant feature of the dispute settlement procedures of the convention is the compulsory dispute settlement mechanisms. Every party that ratified the convention is subject to dispute settlement in terms of part XV without the need for the parties to subject themselves to dispute settlement whenever a dispute arises. The traditional means of dispute settlement as envisaged by article 33(1) of the Charter of the United Nations is confirmed in section 1, and is integrated into the compulsory dispute settlement procedures of section 2 of part XV. The parties, however, may not resort to compulsory dispute settlement unless and until they have exhausted the traditional means of dispute resolution. Compulsory dispute resolution is therefore subservient to the traditional means of dispute settlement.

The present work is initiated to study the history perspectives of marine affairs and the organization structure of government for dealing with the ocean matter in Taiwan. According to neo-institutionalism approach, the ocean affairs must be managed and manipulated by the followed aspects: the international spirits and practices, the history of Taiwan ocean affairs, and the human rational actions. The international spirits and practices should be based upon with the current ocean governance, Agenda 21, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and marine policies of major nations. These should be adapted into the bases of Taiwan ocean policies. Taiwan has long neglect overlooked the ocean by ignoring territorial waters, it has only with slogan of ocean country for the time being. The government has not made the clear responsibilities of ocean affairs among within the departments. Up to now it is still the Council of Ocean Affairs which will be established till 2012. Considering the rational choice, the establishment and transformation is still the hardest challenge for the management of ocean affairs. This thesis concludes that it would be best interest for the government to integrate the management spirit of marine affairs with international practice, because the affairs of surrounding ocean are increasingly complex. The current draft organization structure on the Council of Ocean Affairs could not easy to deal with sophisticated ocean affairs. Therefore, the Council of Ocean Affairs should be shaped to getting more dominant power instead of coordination power. The Department of Ocean is needed to handle the marine affairs instead of the Council of Ocean Affairs. Finally, extensive funding for affiliation and training human resource related to the establishment of the Council of Ocean Affairs will be beneficial to the ocean governance.

1982 m. Jungtinių Tautų jūrų teisės konvencija nustato sudėtingą ginčų, susijusių su jūrų teisės klausimais, sprendimo mechanizmą, derindama įvairius ginčų sprendimo būdus bei plačią šalių pasirinkimo laisvę: nuo tradicinių diplomatinių ginčo sprendimo metodų iki privalomojo ginčų sprendimo. Be to, Konvencija įkuria naują nuolatinę teisminę instituciją Tarptautinį jūrų teisės tribunolą. Šio darbo pirmuosiuose skyriuose bendrai aptariami ginčų sprendimo mechanizmo ypatumai, privalomosios jurisdikcijos susiformavimo prielaidos bei naujo Tribunolo atsiradimą lėmusios priežastys. Toliau nagrinėjamos su šio Tribunolo jurisdikcija susijusios problemos. Pirmiausiai analizuojant Konvencijos 287 straipsnyje numatytų privalomųjų procedūrų pasirinkimo laisvę bei pagal šį straipsnį pateiktus valstybių pareiškimus, prieinama išvada, kad Tribunolo privalomoji jurisdikcija spręsti ginčus, susijusius su Konvencijos aiškinimu ar taikymu, apskritai yra ribota. Šioje vietoje atkreipiamas dėmesys į valstybių pasyvumą ir valios trūkumą. Toliau nagrinėjamas Konvencijos XV dalies 1 skyriaus nuostatų, konkrečiai 281 ir 282 straipsnių, interpretavimas aktualiuose Southern Bluefin Tuna ir Mox Plant arbitražų sprendimuose, šių sprendimų skirtingas vertinimas, taip pat Europos Teisingumo Teismo Mox Plant byloje sprendimas. Be to, darbe vertinama pareiškimų pateiktų pagal Tarptautinio Teisingumo Teismo Statuto 36 straipsnio 2 dalį įtaka. Galiausiai atkreipiamas dėmesys į Konvencijoje numatytus... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea lays out a complex system for settlement of disputes relating to the law of the sea matters and coordinates various methods of dispute settlement: from measures traditionally known under public international law to compulsory dispute settlement. Moreover, in its dispute settlement system it establishes a new judicial institution the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The foremost chapters of this paper discuss general features of this dispute settlement system, objectives which led to the adoption of compulsory jurisdiction and main reasons for establishing the new Tribunal. Further it examines problems concerning the jurisdiction of this Tribunal. Primarily analyzed the choice of procedure under Article 287 and States’ declarations made thereunder it appears that the Tribunal has very limited compulsory jurisdiction for the disputes concerning the interpretation or application of this Convention. This results from the policy of drift. Further this paper comments on the relevant cases concerning the interpretation of Articles 281 and 282, namely Southern Bluefin Tuna and Mox Plant arbitrations, also the judgement of European Court of Justice in Mox Plant. Moreover, it deals with the impact of the acceptance by all parties to a dispute of the International Court of Justice compulsory jurisdiction under Article 36, paragraph 2 of Court’s Statute. The second part of the paper discusses the Tribunal’s compulsory... [to full text]

Underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites are unique in how their artifacts and archaeological contexts differ from terrestrial heritage sites, but UNESCO notes that UCH sites in less-actively regulated areas, like international waters, are at a high risk of having their material culture remains destroyed, pillaged, or commercially exploited, especially as technological innovations continue to increase access to the deep sea and its resources. International treaties like UNESCO's 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage demonstrate efforts by the international community to protect UCH, however many maritime states including the U.S. have not signed it out of a concern that the treaty oversteps the international legal framework established by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In order to better understand how UCH is (or is not) protected in international waters around the world, this thesis examines the threats facing UCH in international waters as well as the contemporary legal frameworks designed to protect this cultural heritage. Several solutions aimed at addressing key threats facing UCH in international waters caused by these legal and regulatory systems and which can be taken by the U.S. and international community at large are also proposed. / Master of Arts / Underwater cultural heritage including shipwrecks, sunken port architecture, and even entire sunken cities provide important information about humanity's history of using the world's oceans and seas. Unfortunately, many of these underwater cultural heritage sites are highly at-risk of being accidentally destroyed or pillaged by people who are more interested in selling antiquities than learning about them. This problem is particularly exasperated in international waters, in which no country has the sole right to make or enforce laws to protect these cultural resources. While there are several international laws and treaties designed to protect underwater cultural heritage sites, some countries, including the U.S., have refused to sign them. To better understand why, this thesis discusses the risks facing underwater cultural heritage sites in international waters and the legal options available to help protect them. Several solutions aimed at addressing primary threats facing underwater cultural heritage sites and which the U.S. could adopt are also proposed.

Název diplomové práce: Aspekty registrace plavidel v mezinárodním právu (oblast mezinárodního práva mořského a registrace námořních plavidel) (Aspects of the registration of vessels in the International Law) Abstrakt: Along with fishing, navigation is the oldest use of the sea, and remains one of the most important. Ships are the most important means of transporting goods on such routes: ninety-five per cent, by weight, of all international trade is seaborne. On the military side is it same important battle field. While almost all costal States and some landlocked (right now without Czech Republic) ones have a merchant navy of some description, one of the remarkable features of the international shipping industry is the degree to which ships are concentrated under the flags of relatively few States. This does not necessarily indicate a similar distribution of ownership. We are talking about "flags of convenience" and it is one of the topics of this thesis. This thesis deals transformation from customary international law to current codified regulation of the registration of vessels. The ascription of nationality to ships is one of the most important means by which public order is maintained at sea. As well as indicating what rights a ship enjoys and to what obligations it is subjects, the nationality of a...

Through the Freedom of Navigation Program, established in 1979, the United States exercises diplomatic and military options for disputing maritime claims it judges to be inconsistent with customary international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Yet, despite the United States’ universal commitment to freedom of navigation and the law of the sea, it has behaved inconsistently from 1979-2013. This dissertation examines the variation and asks under what conditions the United States demonstrates its refusal to acquiesce to maritime claims—either by issuing a diplomatic protest or driving a warship through the disputed waters. This dissertation introduces a new dataset of every coastal state in the world over this 34-year period, coding each type of maritime claim made by every coastal state in the world, whether the United States disputes that particular claim, and whether the United States takes some kind of diplomatic or operational action to dispute it. The mixed-method analysis proceeds with a large-n quantitative analysis that sets up a qualitative case study on the Strait of Hormuz. The dissertation begins and concludes with a discussion of current conditions in the South China Sea and the United States activity in this disputed region. This study finds that territorial and usage claims are twice as strongly correlated with operational assertions as a response than diplomatic protests. More specifically, coastal states that require foreign ships to obtain permission prior to entering their territorial sea are most highly correlated with operational assertions. When the United States disputes a maritime claim, military powers and wealthy states are no more likely to receive Freedom of Navigation operations (FONOPS) than others. Moreover, bilateral trade relationships and polity type hardly seem to matter. Similarly, neither the number of ships nor diplomatic representation increases the likelihood of FONOPS. Rather, a coastal state’s possession of nuclear weapons significantly increases the likelihood of receiving an operational assertion—especially if that states has made a declaration upon ratification of UNCLOS.

With its national strength, the United States is, more often than not, a major State initiating the making of important international multilateral treaties and shaping the final outcome by wielding its influence in the negotiation processes. Nevertheless, three major international multilateral treaties concluded in three different domains all appear the same situation in which the U.S. participated actively in the negotiations but ended up rejecting to sign or ratify due to their inconformities with American ¡§national interests.¡¨ The purpose of this thesis is to examine the American proposals and interventions made in the negotiating processes of three important international multilateral treaties, i.e., the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Kyoto Protocol and Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, so as to understand American negotiation stances as well as the issues to which the U.S. attached importance to and the derive the substantive contents of the ¡§national interests¡¨ that the U.S. held dear. Furthermore, this thesis takes one step further to analyze who were the actors that shaped and defined the ¡§national interests¡¨ which the U.S. valued and held tight.

This thesis analyses the American policy of sustaining freedom of navigation on the seas through its Freedom of Navigation Program (FON Program). It analyses Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) as a means of maintain the current system of the law of the sea as put forth by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. (UNCLOS) The thesis deals with law of the sea history, it also describes and analyses the Convention itself. Another topic discussed is the unique position of United States as a power guaranteeing the current regime of the seas, while staying out of the provision of UNCLOS. The thesis analyses the American debate about joining the Convention and analyses the consequences of American absence as a party to the treaty. The FON Program and FONOPs in the South China Sea are thoroughly analysed by the thesis. The South China Sea is a troubled region suffering from excessive maritime claims of local states. These claims are closely connected to the militarization of the region. The People's Republic of China is an important force as a rising power striving for the position of a regional hegemon. The thesis describes, how FONOPs are conducted and it observes, how they are received by the target states. The thesis is set in the South China Sea region between October 2015 and May...

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides an opportunity for qualifying coastal signatory states to claim extended maritime estate. The opportunity to claim rests on the precept that in certain cases a continental shelf extends beyond the traditionally demarcated two hundred nautical mile (200M) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) mark. In these cases a successful claim results in states having sovereign rights to the living and non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil, as well as the sedentary species, of the area claimed. Where the continental shelf extends beyond the 200M mark, the Foot of the Continental Slope (FoS) has to be determined as one of the qualifying criteria. Article 76 of UNCLOS de nes the FoS as ". . . the point of maximum change in the gradient at its base." Currently Caris Lots is the most widely used software which incorporates public domain data to determine the FoS as a step towards defining the offshore extent of an extended continental shelf. In this software, existing methods to compute the FoS are often subjective, typically involving an operator choosing the best perceived foot point during consideration of a two dimensional profile of the continental slope. These foot points are then joined by straight lines to form the foot line to be used in the desk top study (feasibility study). The purpose of this thesis is to establish a semi-automated and mathematically based three dimensional method for determination of the FoS using South African data as a case study. Firstly, a general background of UNCLOS is given (with emphasis on Article 76), including a brief discussion of the geological factors that influence the characteristics of a continental shelf and thus factors that could influence the determination of the FoS. Secondly, a mathematical method for determination of the surfaces of extremal curvature (on three dimensional data), originally proposed by Vanicek and Ou in 1994, is detailed and applied to two smooth, hypothetical sample surfaces. A discussion of the bathymetric data to be used for application introduces the factors to be taken into account when using extensive survey data as well as methods to process the raw data for use. The method is then applied to two sets of gridded bathymetric data of differing resolution for four separate regions around the South African coast. The ridges formed on the resulting surfaces of maximum curvature are then traced in order to obtain a foot line definition for each region and each resolution. The results obtained from application of the method are compared with example foot points provided by the subjective two dimensional method of computation within the Caris Lots software suite. A comparison of the results for the different resolutions of data is included to provide insight as to the effectiveness of the method with differing spatial coarseness of data. Finally, an indication of further work is provided in the conclusion to this thesis, in the form of a number of recommendations for possible adaptations of the mathematical and tracing methods, and improvements thereof. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Verenigde Nasies se Konvensie oor die Wet van die See (UNCLOS) bied 'n geleentheid aan kwalifiserende state wat ondertekenaars van die Konvensie is om aanspraak te maak op uitgebreide maritieme gebied. Die geleentheid om op uitgebreide gebied aanspraak te maak berus op die veronderstelling dat 'n kontinentale tafel in sekere gevalle tot buite die tradisioneel afgebakende 200 seemyl eksklusiewe ekonomiese zone (EEZ) strek. In sulke gevalle het 'n suksesvolle aanspraak die gevolg dat die staat soewereine reg oor die lewende en nie-lewende bronne van die seevloer en ondergrond verkry, sowel as die inwonende spesies van die gebied buite die EEZ waarop aanspraak gemaak word. Die voet van die kontinentale tafel (FoS) moet vasgestel word as een van die bepalende kriteria vir afbakening van die aanspraak waar die kontinentale tafel tot buite die EEZ strek. Artikel 76 van UNCLOS defineer die FoS as ". . . die punt van maksimale verandering in die helling by sy basis." Die mees algemeen gebruikte rekenaar sagteware wat openbare domein data aanwend om die voet van die helling te bepaal, is tans "Caris Lots." Die metodes wat in die program gebruik word om die voet van die helling te bepaal, is dikwels subjektief en berus tipies op 'n operateur se keuse van die beste afgeskatte punt van die voet van die helling uit 'n oorweging van 'n twee dimensionele profiel van die kontinentale tafel. Die berekende voet-punte word dan deur middel van reguit lyne verbind om 'n hellingsvoetlyn te vorm. Hierdie voetlyn kan dan in die Suid-Afrikaanse lessenaarstudie (doenlikheidstudie) oor die bepaling van die voet van die kontinentale tafel gebruik word. Die doel van hierdie verhandeling is om 'n semi-outomatiese en wiskundig gebaseerde drie-dimensionele metode te beskryf vir die vasstelling van die FoS, deur as 'n gevallestudie van Suid-Afrikaanse data gebruik te maak. 'n Algemene agtergrond van UNCLOS, met beklemtoning van Artikel 76, word eerstens gegee. 'n Kort bespreking van die geologiese faktore wat die kontinentale tafel beïnvloed en wat gevolglik 'n invloed kan hê op die vasstelling van die voet van die helling, is ingesluit. Tweedens word 'n wiskundige metode, wat oorspronklik in 1994 deur Vanicek en Ou voorgestel is, vir bepaling van die oppervlaktes van maksimale kromming (gebaseer op drie-dimensionele data) in detail bespreek en 'n voorbeeld van 'n toepassing op twee gladde, denkbeeldige oppervaktes word beskryf. Die faktore wat in ag geneem moet word wanneer omvattende dieptemeting data gebruik word, en die metodes wat gebruik word om die rou data te verwerk, word ingelei deur 'n bespreking van die aard van die dieptemeting data wat gebruik is. Die metode word dan toegepas op twee stelle geruite dieptemeting data van verskillende resolusies vir vier afsonderlike streke om die Suid-Afrikaanse kus. Die riwwe wat op die resulterende oppervlaktes van maksimale kromming gevorm word, word dan nagetrek ten einde 'n lyndefinisie van die voet van die kontinentale tafel vir elke streek teen elke resolusie te bepaal. Die resultate verkry uit toepassings van die metode word vergelyk met hellingsvoetpunte soos bepaal deur die subjektiewe twee dimensionele berekeningsmetode in die "Caris Lots" rekenaar-program. 'n Vergelyking van die resultate vir die verskillende data resolusies word ingesluit om die doeltreffendheid van die metode met betrekking tot die hantering van verskillende ruimtelike data resolusies te ondersoek. 'n Aanduiding van verdere werk, bestaande uit 'n aantal aanbevelings vir moontlike aanpassings en verbeterings van die wiskundige en natrek metodes, word ten slotte in die gevolgtrekking van die verhandeling verskaf.

Didėjantis tarptautinis bendradarbiavimas jūros aplinkos apsaugos srityje skatina intensyvesnį duomenų apie jūros aplinką rinkimą bei palankesnių sąlygų sudarymą MJT vykdymui. Šiame darbe siekta išanalizuoti MJT reguliavimą atskirose jūros erdvėse bei įvertinti Baltijos jūros šalių praktiką ir reglamentavimo trūkumus. Buvo išanalizuota 1982 m. Jungtinių Tautų jūrų teisės konvencija, ypač nuostatos susijusios su MJT, Helsinkio komisijos rekomendacijos, papildančios MJT teisinį režimą, apžvelgti Baltijos jūros valstybių, įskaitant Lietuvos, norminiai aktai. Darbe išanalizuotos MJT charakteristikos, Jūrų teisės konvencijoje naudojamos tyrimų sąvokos, pagrindiniai MJT reguliavimo principai, MJT praktika Baltijos jūros šalyse bei MJT ir jų teisinio reguliavimo svarba ES mastu. Tyrimų rezultatai parodė, kad Baltijos šalyse vis dėlto egzistuoja nemažai trūkumų MJT reglamentavime, ypač leidimų išdavimo procedūrose. / Growing international cooperation in marine protection field intensifies marine data collection and creation of more favourable conditions for marine scientific research activities. This scientific work analyses MSR regulation in separate maritime zones and assesses Baltic States practice and gaps in regulation. UNCLOS, especially provisions related to MSR, recommendation of HELCOM that complements legal regulation of MSR, Baltic States’ and Lithuanian national legal instruments were taken into account. Work presents MSR characteristics, research definitions which are used in Convention, the main MSR regulation principles, Baltic States practice regarding MSR and interest by EU on importance of legal regulation. Results of analysis have showed the existing gaps in MSR regulation in Baltic States, especially within permits issuing procedures.