Law of the Seas

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, 10 December 1982)

(Signatories: 157; Parties: 168)

• It is also called the ‘Law of the Sea Convention’ or the ‘Law of the Sea treaty’.
• It came into force on16 November 1994, in accordance with article 308(1) of UNCLOS.
• It is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place between 1973 and 1982.
• The issue of varying claims of territorial waters was raised in the UN in 1967 by Arvid Pardo of Malta.
• The Law of the Sea Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world’s oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.
• In 1956, the United Nations held its first Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I) at Geneva, Switzerland, resulted in four treaties.
• In 1960, the United Nations held the second Conference on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS II”).
• India was one of the founding member of the convention and signed this convention on 10 Dec, 1982 and later ratified on 29 June, 1995.

Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (New York, 28 July 1994)

(Signatories: 79; Parties: 150)

• To supplement the provisions of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which establishes the concept of “the Area”, i.e. the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, in order to facilitate universal participation in the Convention.
• The Convention, for its part, aims to facilitate international communication and promote the peaceful uses of the seas and oceans, the conservation of their living resources and the protection of the marine environment.
• International organization established by the treaty is named as ‘International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea’.
• India signed the convention on 29 July, 1994 and ratified on 29 June, 1995.

Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (New York, 4 August 1995)

(Signatories: 59; Parties:90)

• The requirements for the entry into force of the Agreement were met on 11 November 2001, when the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malta deposited an instrument of accession to the Agreement with the Secretary-General.
• The Agreement elaborates on the fundamental principle, established in the Convention that States should cooperate to ensure conservation and promote the objective of the optimum utilization of fisheries resources both within and beyond the exclusive economic zone.
• It promotes good order in the oceans through the effective management and conservation of high seas resources by establishing, among other things, detailed minimum international standards for the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks; ensuring that measures taken for the conservation and management of those stocks in areas under national jurisdiction and in the adjacent high seas are compatible and coherent; ensuring that there are effective mechanisms for compliance and enforcement of those measures on the high seas; and recognizing the special requirements of developing States in relation to conservation and management as well as the development and participation in fisheries.
• India has ratified the treaty on 19 Aug, 2003.