Write a 6 page essay on International law : Law of the sea.Download file to see previous pages... It was traditionally three miles, but this distance varied widely and was challenged frequently. It wa

Write a 6 page essay on International law : Law of the sea.

It was traditionally three miles, but this distance varied widely and was challenged frequently. It was not until the 1958 Convention on the Territorial Sea that the term was embodied in a treaty, and only with the 1982 Convention was an actual limit agreed upon. Before continuing, it will be helpful to examine what rights the coastal states and user states have within the territorial sea.

In this way, it will be possible to understand the conflict of interests which has arisen between states concerning the width of the territorial sea. for it is this conflict of interest which is at the root of the legal controversies (Akehurst 171-173). The coastal state's sovereignty over the territorial sea includes the following rights:

for security reasons, the right to suspend temporarily innocent passage in specified areas of the territorial sea except in areas that constitute "straits used for international navigation" (United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, Articles 34-36).

When coastal states become more concerned about damage to the environment and threats to security, they tend to respond by claiming an extension of the territorial sea beyond the traditional three-mile limit. The coastal state must decide how much additional jurisdiction to claim, for with rights also come obligations. Where coastal states claim territorial seas, passage through the territorial sea is governed by the rules of innocent passage as stated in Part II of the 1982 Convention in Articles 17-32. Article 19 (Meaning of Innocent Passage) states that passage is innocent "so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state" and goes on to list twelve criteria for assessing the meaning of innocent. These criteria offer scope for a coastal state to challenge the passage of user states, despite Article 24 (Duties of coastal states) under which the coastal state "shall not hamper the innocent passage of foreign ships except in accordance with the Convention." Although there is some cause for concern on the part of user states the interpretation of innocent passage may restrict shipping, in the past, the concept has worked reasonably well (O'Connell 54). Innocent passage in international straits is, as we shall see, non-suspendible.

There are two main problems for coastal states in extending jurisdiction. First is the difficulty of monitoring innocent passage. In many cases, the means do not exist to determine whether a violation has taken place. Monitoring becomes even more difficult in the case of Article 20 (Submarines and other underwater vehicles) because of the advanced technology needed to detect and monitor submerged passage.