INTERNATIONAL LAW
W.B. Fisch, Fall 2008
Assignment #23

D. The Territorial Sea and Straits

1. REGINA V. KEYN, p. 741 (G.B. Exch. 1876)

a. What is the nature and purpose of the “territorial sea”?

b. how does it differ from land territory? Is it a right of exclusion?

c. What was the relevance of the territorial sea for the particular case?

2. UNCLOS art. 27 (1982), p. 744: does this change the rule applied in Keyn?

3. “Innocent Passage” through territorial sea

a. Does it extend to warships?

i. Corfu Channel Case (ICJ 1949)

ii. UNCLOS art. 19(2)

iii. UNCLOS art. 20

b. Does it extend to aircraft? UNCLOS art. 17

4. “Transit passage” through straits “used for international navigation”

a. Creature of UNCLOS, compensation for extension of TS to 12 miles (closing off many straits formerly part of HS)

b. Extends to aircraft overflight

c. Does not require subs to surface

d. Must be continuous and “without delay”

5. Contiguous Zone and “hot pursuit” (art. 111)

a. generally

b. “mother ship” problem

E. The Deep Seabed (“The Area”)

1. Principles: Declaration of Principles, p. 707 (UNGA Res. 1970), and UNCLOS Part. XI

a. “common heritage of mankind”, art. 136; rights vested in “mankind as a whole”

b. carried out for benefit of “mankind as a whole”, art. 140

1) Institutions: UNCLOS Part. XI

a) The Authority

b) The Enterprise

i) ½ of any mining claims go to it

ii) funding from national and private mining operations

iii) duty to share technology with it

c) 1994 Agreement

d) International Tribunal for LOS, Deep Seabed Chamber