Ocean Law Debates

Book excerpt: The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), signed in 1982 and going into force in 1994, was the product of intensive international debates from the 1950s onward. UNCLOS continues to be the subject of vital debates on new initiatives that seek to clarify or expand the scope of the ocean regime. In Ocean Law Debates: The 50-Year Legacy and Emerging Issues for the Years Ahead, distinguished authors analyze the content of these debates, providing both historical perspectives and keen analyses of present-day issues. Several chapters focus on the contributions to debates over half a century’s time by the Law of the Sea Institute, including the controversies involving maritime delimitation issues, creation of marine fisheries law, and responses to the manifold challenges posed by dramatic advances in science and technology. Complementing these historical perspectives, a section of five chapters offers critical discussion of today’s movement to create a regime to sustain biodiversity in the Area Beyond National Jurisdiction. Finally, the volume offers diverse perspectives on the implementation and judicial interpretation of UNCLOS, international whaling regulation, Arctic regional issues, seabed mining problems, the geopolitics of Marine Protected Area declarations, and the role of the IMO in responding to climate change.