United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: A Commentary. Volume V. Editor-in-Chief, Myron H. Nordquist. Volume Editors, Shabtai Rosenne and Louis B. Sohn. Center for Oceans Law and Policy, University of Virginia. Dordrecht, Boston, London: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1989. Pp. xxxv, 497. Index. Dfl.295; $165; £95.

AbstractCreated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to apply the rules in Article 76 on the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from States’ territorial sea baselines, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf has on several occasions introduced new requirements for States not supported by Article 76, or impermissibly qualifying the rights Article 76 accords them. This article focuses on several such instances, one to the coastal State’s advantage (though temporally rather than spatially), another neutral (though requiring unnecessary work of States), but the remainder all tending to reduce the area of continental shelves. The net effect has been to deprive States of areas of legal continental shelf to which a reasonable interpretation of Article 76 entitles them, and in one case even of their right to have their submissions examined on their merits, even though, paradoxically, the well-meaning intention behind at least some of the Commission’s pronouncements was to avoid other controversies.

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Innocent Passage and the 1982 Convention: The Influence of Soviet Law and Policy

The American Journal of International Law ◽

10.2307/2202406 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 81 (2) ◽

pp. 331-347 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

W. E. Butler

Keyword(s):

Soviet Union ◽

United Nations ◽

Present Article ◽

Law Of The Sea ◽

Special Importance ◽

Policy Changes ◽

Law And Policy ◽

The Soviet Union ◽

Sea Power ◽

United Nations Convention

On April 28, 1983, the Soviet Union became the first maritime country of consequence and the largest sea power signatory to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to enact legislation implementing the provisions of that instrument regulating the innocent passage of foreign warships. The stature of the Soviet Union within the framework of the Convention and the policy changes embodied in the 1983 legislation confer a special importance on these new Rules, whose text and interpretation will become a standard emulated by other countries. The present article examines the text of the Rules against the background of previous Soviet legislation, the 1982 Convention and its negotiating history, and the application of the Rules.

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United Nations Convention on the law of the sea 1982

Marine Policy ◽

10.1016/0308-597x(90)90013-h ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 459-460

Author(s):

A.V. Lowe

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Law Of The Sea ◽

United Nations Convention ◽

The Law

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How to Amend UNCLOS and Why It Has Never Been Done

The Korean Journal of International and Comparative Law ◽

10.1163/22134484-12340146 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 72-83

Author(s):

Chris Whomersley

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Law Of The Sea ◽

International Organisations ◽

International Labour Organisation ◽

International Maritime Organisation ◽

Consensus Procedure ◽

United Nations Convention ◽

The United Nations ◽

The Law ◽

Labour Organisation

Abstract The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) contains detailed provisions concerning its amendment, but these have never been used and this article explores why this is so. States have instead maintained the Convention as a “living instrument” by adopting updated rules in other organisations, especially the International Maritime Organisation and the International Labour Organisation. States have also used the consensus procedure at Meetings of the States Parties to modify procedural provisions in UNCLOS, and have adopted two Implementation Agreements relating to UNCLOS. In addition, port State jurisdiction has developed considerably since the adoption of UNCLOS, and of course other international organisations have been active in related fields.

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