234

Part of the balancing exercise of UNCLOS is provided by the system of maritime zones that it provides for and rules that govern activities that may take place there.257 Notwithstanding its ‘constitutional’ aspirations it should be noted that a number of States are not party to UNCLOS including the USA.258 Nevertheless many of its provisions, including those on maritime zones, are generally accepted to be declaratory of customary international law and thus of general application. Maritime zones under UNCLOS The starting point for understanding, and for that matter measuring, the maritime zones of a coastal State are the ‘baselines’, which are to be determined in accordance with UNCLOS.259 The ‘normal’ baseline is the low-water line along the coast as marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the coastal State.260 However, in some specified circumstances a coastal State may draw a ‘straight baseline’ such as, for example, across the mouths of rivers and bays.261 UNCLOS recognizes that each coastal State has sovereignty over its internal waters which are the waters contained in ports, rivers, estuaries and lagoons that are landward of the baseline. Moreover, the sovereignty of each coastal State extends beyond its land territory and internal waters to an adjacent belt of sea described as the ‘territorial sea’. The maximum breadth of the territorial sea is twelve nautical miles (nm)262 measured from the baseline. Within the territorial sea the authority of the coastal State is in principle absolute except as restricted by UNCLOS and other rules of international law. The most important restriction included in UNCLOS is the right of ‘innocent passage’ through the territorial sea, which is enjoyed by ships of all States (article 17). Beyond its territorial sea a coastal State may claim an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that can extend up to 200 nm from the baseline. Within its EEZ a coastal State does not enjoy sovereignty as such but a more limited set of “sovereign rights” relating to living and non-living resources and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of its EEZ (such as the production of energy). Article 56(1) states that: In the exclusive economic zone, a coastal State has: (a) sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds; A coastal State also has the necessary jurisdiction related to these sovereign rights as well as jurisdiction for the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures, marine scientific research and the protection and preservation of the marine environment.263 These sovereign rights and jurisdiction conferred upon the coastal State imply the power to regulate the terms of use relating to those activities. On the other hand the coastal State does not enjoy sovereignty in the fullest sense. Article 56(2) of UNCLOS states: In exercising its rights and performing its duties under this Convention in the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State shall have due regard to the rights and duties of other States and shall act in a manner compatible with the provisions of this Convention. 257 In addition to the maritime zones discussed below UNCLOS also contains provisions other types of maritime zone which are not relevant to the discussion. 258 As at 10 January 2014 there were 166 parties to UNCLOS. See http://www.un.org/uropa/los/reference_files/status2010.pdf 259 Article 3 of UNCLOS. 260 Article 5 of UNCLOS. 261 Articles 7, 9 and 10 of UNCLOS. 262 1 nm = 1,852 metres. 263 UNCLOS Article 56(1)(b). Study in support of Impact Assessment work on Blue Biotechnology 195

235 Publizr Home