Various Laws Of Sea

The law of the sea is the public legal equivalent commonly known as maritime law  which pertains to individual maritime concerns such as ship disasters, salvage claims, and marine insurance.

UNCLOS 1982

The UN Convention on Maritime Law (UNCLOS) is an international convention that was adopted and signed at Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1982, after nearly 10 years of talks (1973-1982). It took the place of the four Geneva Conventions of April 1958, which dealt with the territorial sea and contiguous zone, the continental shelf, the high seas, fisheries, and the protection of living marine resources on the high seas, respectively. The revised wording has a broader scope since it covers all elements of marine regions, as well as their actions and repercussions, various kinds of pollution, for example. It combined all of the known facts from the previous four conventions into a more universal framework

Sea Laws

Section 297 of the Indian constitution, as well as regulations governing waterways, the continental shelf, the EEZ, and other marine zones, determine India’s position on the law of the sea. Indian jurisdiction over the oceans and bottom, as well as the territory and aircraft above those waters, is defined under the Maritime Zone Law.

The Law of the Seas was not codified under Customary International Laws only because the ocean was considered an important maritime property at the time, through which nations could claim ownership, open up new trading rules, and capture new areas with the help of traders or powerful navels.

Nonetheless, by the 17th century, countries had developed a Customary International Law that stated categorically that a country’s territorial limit from the coastal sea shall be limited to 3 miles off the coast, under which the country shall exercise absolute jurisdiction, and no international vessels or ships will be permitted within that territory, except under certain restricted conditions.

This 3-mile rule was recognized as the “cannon-shot rule,” and the restrictions imposed on foreign ships entering a host’s territorial waters were known as the “Doctrine of innocent passage.” If an international vessel was exercising the doctrine of innocent passage, no over-or-under operations against the host State’s territorial integrity were permitted.

The Indian Government’s Stance On Territorial Waters

Section 297 of the Indian constitution, as well as regulations governing waterways, the continental shelf, the EEZ, and other marine zones, determine India’s position on the law of the sea. Indian jurisdiction over the oceans and bottom, as well as the territory and aircraft above those waters, is defined under the Maritime Zone Law. Each point on the boundary line is 12 miles in length from the closest point to the base in an area of the line drawn. All international vessels have the right to pass within territorial waters in an unobstructed manner.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The law of the sea is a set of norms, treaties, and treaty obligations that regulate how countries keep the seas in order, productive, and peaceful.

The inner boundary of the maritime boundary and the exterior limit of domestic waters are marked on NOAA’s nautical charts. For the purposes of international law, this establishes where the United States’ territorial seas begin. 

A number of foreign agreements negotiated in the second part of the twentieth century are noteworthy in the evolution of maritime law. In 1956, the United Nations (UN) hosted its first Meeting on the Maritime law (UNCLOS I), which culminated in a convention in 1958. The 1982 Law of the Law Of the Sea was the product of the last meeting, which was convened in Montego Bay, Jamaica (LOSC). After gaining the required number of UN signatures, the LOSC went into effect in 1994.

While the United States signed the 1958 Convention, it had not joined the 1982 Convention as of late 2013. The United States acknowledges that the 1982 Agreement is based on customary law and abides by its terms.

The boundaries of the 12-mile journey Territorial Sea, the 24 nautical mile Interconnected Zone, and the 200 nautical miles Extended Economic Zone must be depicted on NOAA’s nautical charts (EEZ). The “normal baseline,” which is obtained from NOAA nautical charts, is used to project every one of these maritime zones.

Conclusion

In 1982, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was approved. It establishes regulations controlling all uses of the oceans and their resources and establishes a complete system of law and regulation in the world’s oceans and seas.

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) went into force on November 16, 1994, more than 10 years after it was signed in December 1982 and after nine years of discussions. Without a question, its result constituted an amazing achievement in international law.