International Law of the Sea

The oceans are critical to State interests and human prosperity, being a highway for commerce, a shared resource and a conduit for threats to security. They cover 70% of the earth’s surface, account for 90% of the world’s international trade and provide 40% of the protein consumed in the developing world. 

In this context, the law of the sea is assuming a new prominence in international affairs, from questions of environmental protection and offshore resource exploitation to legal contests over polar resources and sea lanes rendered more accessible by global warming, and even regarding the risk of maritime terrorism and smuggling weapons of mass destruction. This course will approach the law of the sea in the context of these developments and concerns. It provides a comprehensive grounding in the subject, combining the study of maritime zones (such as the territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf, and high seas), with the study of the main bodies of law regulating users of the seas (such as navigation, fishing, pollution, and military activities). It also aims to enhance general international law knowledge as the teaching relates the issues of the law of the sea to other relevant areas of general international law, primarily the law on state jurisdiction, but also including sources, the law of treaties, and state responsibility. 

Assessment is by way of an examination.