This dissertation involves an analysis and discussion of the legal regime governing the exploitation of non-living marine resources within national jurisdiction in East Africa. This is in light of the relatively recent offshore oil and gas discoveries off the coasts of Mozambique and Tanzania which have resulted in offshore exploration activities along the Western Indian Ocean (including the Red Sea) in pursuit of these hydrocarbons. Before delving into legal analysis and discussion, the dissertation departs by providing background on the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC)2 which is the international legal regime governing maritime spaces and the contributions made by, inter alia, East African coastal States to bring it about. From here, the dissertation ventures into an analysis and discussion of the legal zones claimed by East African coastal States within which exploitation activities may occur. This part of the discussion involves, among other things, an in depth analysis of the practices of East African coastal States as far as establishing maritime zones in terms of international law. The dissertation then proceeds to discuss which East African coastal States have delimited their maritime zones where they overlap with neighbouring States with adjacent and/or opposite coasts. The discussion highlights which States, in terms of international law, have clearly defined the ambit of their maritime jurisdiction by establishing a delimitation boundary where claims to maritime zones overlapped. This part of the dissertation also discusses which States have not delimited their overlapping maritime zones and the reasons for the lack of delimitation. Following this, the dissertation moves on to discuss the LOSC provisions applicable to exploiting non-living resources, and analyse whether the laws of East African coastal States that pertain to exploiting these resources adequately give effect to LOSC. Finally, in light of the above analysis and discussions, the dissertation moves on to establish if whether or not the legal infrastructure of East African coastal States is adequate for exploiting non-living resources within their national jurisdiction. Generally, the findings reflect favourably on the legal framework of East African coastal States. However, the pressing issue is the practices of some States in respect of claiming certain maritime zones and where necessary, not delimiting these zones. This results in uncertainty as to the maritime jurisdiction of a coastal State, especially with resources such as oil and gas which may straddle across boundaries. Moreover, it creates conflict and as such, threatens peace and security in the region as well as stunt economic and socio-economic development. As such, this dissertation, on the one hand, reflects the advancement of East African coastal States from contributing towards the adoption and coming into effect of LOSC, as well as giving effect to it domestically as far as exploiting non-living resources within national jurisdiction is concerned. On the other hand, it highlights the work that lays ahead for East African coastal States in order for them to fully enjoy their right.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:26646 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Ntola, Yamkela Siqhamo |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Law |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, LLM |
| Format | xi, 169 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
Page generated in 0.0024 seconds