"UNCLOS at 40-Plus: Maritime Law's Enduring Role Amid New Disputes"
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
coastal state's sovereign resource rights zone extending up to 200 nautical miles from baseline.
Transit passage
right of all ships and aircraft to pass through international straits continuously; cannot be suspended by coastal state.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the primary international legal framework governing the world's oceans. Negotiations began in the early 1970s under the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III). The conference addressed a fundamental question: who owns the ocean and its resources? Earlier frameworks, the Geneva Conventions on the Law of the Sea (1958), were inadequate for the modern era of deep-sea mining, expanding maritime trade, and newly independent developing nations seeking equitable resource access.
UNCLOS was adopted in 1982 and entered into force in 1994. It established a comprehensive legal architecture covering territorial seas, the contiguous zone, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the continental shelf, the high seas, and the deep seabed. A key philosophical underpinning was the concept of the 'common heritage of mankind' for the deep seabed, meaning its resources belong to all humanity, not to any single state or private actor. This principle was championed by developing nations and became one of the most contested elements of the entire negotiation.
UNCLOS defines several distinct maritime zones. The territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles from the baseline, within which the coastal state exercises full sovereignty. Beyond it lies the contiguous zone (up to 24 nautical miles), where a state may enforce customs, immigration, and sanitation laws. The EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline, granting the coastal state sovereign rights over living and non-living resources but not full sovereignty, other states retain freedom of navigation and overflight. The continental shelf may extend beyond 200 nautical miles in certain geological conditions, up to a maximum of 350 nautical miles, subject to recommendations from the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
Two navigation regimes are critical for geopolitics. Innocent passage applies in the territorial sea: all ships, including warships, may pass through as long as passage is continuous, expeditious, and not prejudicial to the peace or security of the coastal state. …
With reference to the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, consider the following statements:
1.A coastal state has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from baseline determined in accordance with the convention.
2.Ships of all states, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea.
3.The Exclusive Economic Zone shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following statements:
1.The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) has a 'Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air'.
2.The UNCAC is the ever-first legally binding global anti-corruption instrument.
3.A highlight of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) is the inclusion of a specific chapter aimed at returning assets to their rightful owners from whom they had been taken illicitly.
4.The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is mandated by its member States to assist in the implementation of both UNCAC and UNTOC.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
'The reform process in the United Nations remains unresolved, because of the delicate imbalance of East and West and entanglement of the USA vs. Russo-Chinese alliance.' Examine and critically evaluate the East-West policy confrontations in this regard.
With reference to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), consider the following statements:
1.The territorial sea of a coastal state extends up to 12 nautical miles from the baseline.
2.The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline.
3.The continental shelf cannot extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline under any circumstances.
4.Ships of landlocked states do not enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Consider the following statements about the dispute settlement mechanism under UNCLOS:
1.States parties to UNCLOS are bound by a system of compulsory dispute settlement.
2.The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is headquartered in Geneva.
3.A state party may choose between ITLOS, the ICJ, or an Annex VII arbitral tribunal for dispute settlement.
4.Non-parties to UNCLOS are entirely exempt from its dispute settlement provisions.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following pairs relating to navigation regimes under UNCLOS:
1.Innocent passage — Applies in the territorial sea; coastal state may suspend it temporarily for security reasons
2.Transit passage — Applies in international straits; coastal state cannot suspend it
3.Archipelagic sea lanes passage — Applies in archipelagic waters; submarines must surface
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
Consider the following statements about the 'common heritage of mankind' principle under UNCLOS:
1.It applies to the deep seabed and its mineral resources beyond national jurisdiction.
2.The United States accepted this principle and ratified UNCLOS in 1994.
3.The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is the body established to govern resource exploitation under this principle.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following best explains why the transit passage regime under UNCLOS is considered binding on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, even though Iran is not a party to UNCLOS?
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