Section of International Law: Law of the Sea Committee

Section of International Law:
Law of the Sea Committee

What We Do

The Law of the Sea Committee is responsible for the analysis, review, and monitoring of the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which entered into force in 1994. The committee also has jurisdiction over other ocean-related treaties, agreements, and institutions, including the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Seabed Authority, and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The Committee actively follows developments relating to navigational rights, maritime boundary delimitation, the exploitation of undersea resources, fisheries management, and the protection of the marine environment.

Don't miss this upcoming program at the Fall Meeting in Miami!

Thursday, October 29, 10:30 am to 12:00 pm at the Eden Roc, A Renaissance Beach Resort & Spa

Piracy: An International Problem in Search of a Solution
Public International Law/Rule of Law, International Trade/Regulatory

With the recent seizures of vessels off the coast of Somalia, the age-old practice of piracy has captured international attention - and the once arcane law of piracy has moved again to the forefront of debate in international law. While piracy poses obvious problems for national (and global) security, it also imposes additional risks and costs upon those engaged in international commerce. This program will address the evolution of public international law relating to piracy - and will examine specifically the rules governing a nation's right to interdiction on the high seas, in territorial waters, and on land. The program will also address the impact of piracy upon the private sector, examining such commercial-law issues as the rights of buyers and sellers of seized cargo, charterparty claims, and the obligations of marine insurers.

Program Chairs:
Dr. Steven L. Snell, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, DC
Catherine Pawluch, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Moderator:
Dr. Steven L. Snell, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, DC

Speakers:
James Bergeron, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), London, United Kingdom
Lizabeth L. Burrell, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosel/ Former President of the Maritime Law Association of the United States, New York, New York
Bruce G. Paulsen, Seward & Kissel LLP, New York, New York

Recent Developments

The Drive Towards Ratification by the United States of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea

Following a decade of negotiations, the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, or the LOS Convention) was opened for signature in 1982. The LOS Convention represents a veritable constitution for the oceans and includes provisions that deal with navigational rights and freedoms, maritime boundary delimitation, the rights of coastal states within their territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone, the high seas, environmental protection, and the exploitation of resources located beneath and beyond the continental shelf. The treaty also establishes sophisticated and flexible dispute resolution mechanisms.

UNCLOS entered into force in 1994, but without the United States as a party to the treaty. Although President Clinton transmitted the treaty to the Senate for its advice and consent that same year, the LOS Convention remains unratified by the United States -- despite the successful completion of a new agreement ("the Part XI Agreement") that substantially revised the treaty's original provisions on deep seabed mining. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved the treaty in 2004, but a full Senate vote was never taken.

In May 2007, President George W. Bush urged the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to take action on the Convention once again. President Bush summarized four principal reasons that the United States should ratify the treaty:

the Convention advances the national security interests of the United States, including the maritime mobility of our armed forces worldwide;
the Convention would secure U.S. sovereign rights over extensive marine areas and the valuable natural resources they contain;
accession would promote U.S. interest in the environmental health of the oceans; and
ratification would give the United States "a seat at the table" when rights that are vital to national interests are debated and interpreted.

The drive towards ratification received additional momentum in the form of a statement of support from scores of national leaders -- including governors and former statesmen, as well as the heads of numerous industry and environmental groups. The American Bar Association also submitted a statement in support of the treaty and urged the Senate to end the hold-out status of the United States. In September and October 2007, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard testimony from government and private sector witnesses, and, on October 31, 2007, the Committee approved the treaty by a 17-4 vote and referred it to the full senate for a vote. No vote by the full Senate, however, was taken before the end of 2007, and the United States remains a non-party to the LOS Convention -- despite the considerable costs of further delay.

On the plus side, continental shelf claims in the Arctic have focused attention on the immediate importance of the treaty, which provides a science-based mechanism for certifying such claimst. The United States has extensive continental shelf claims off the coast of Alaska, but, as the only Arctic nation not a party to UNCLOS, it remains left on the sidelines as other countries work to establish their own Arctic claims. In addition, the prospect of open, year-round shipping lanes through the Northwest Passage -- and the environmental and strategic implications of that development -- has also underlined the importance of U.S. accession to the treaty.

For these reasons, ratification -- perhaps more important than ever before -- remains firmly on the national agenda in 2009.

Related Products

International Lawyer, The
The International Lawyer focuses on practical issues facing lawyers engaged in international practice, with a primary interest in topics concer... more