Being one of the largest coastal States in the world, China's marine legal system is significant in the overall development of the international law of the sea. This book focuses on the establishment and development of China's marine legal system in the context of the new law of the sea centered on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China ratified in 1996. It consists of five parts concerning, respectively, a general survey of China's marine legal system, navigation and maritime security, marine resources management, marine environmental protection and marine...

The present analysis examines the legal framework for marine scientific research with a focus on research platforms

This book deals with China's response to international fisheries law and policy as envisaged in the LOSC framework and post-LOSC fisheries instruments. As the first monograph of its kind dealing with the complex issue of the global fisheries crisis and China's fisheries management practice over a significant period of time, the book builds a bridge between China and the world for a better understanding of Chinese fisheries management. It will be of great value to academics, professionals, and policy-makers alike.

This book is about the contemporary problem of places of refuge for ships in need of assistance. There is an uncodified humanitarian custom providing a right to a ship in distress to assistance and protection by coastal authorities, including access to a place of refuge when necessary. With modern ships carrying large volumes of hazardous cargo and fuel, a disabled ship can pose a significant threat to the marine environment and interests of an affected coastal state. After being refused refuge, the 'Erika' and 'Prestige' became casualties causing severe environmental damage. Today, while the...

The UN Fish Stocks Agreement was an effort to curb rising conflicts and unilateral actions regarding the rights and duties of States to exploit and manage straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. It broke new ground in international fisheries law in terms of incorporating new environmental principles, provisions on compliance and enforcement, and the duty of States to co-operate. This volume explores how these commitments are acted upon by States in a selection of regional fisheries management regimes, covering fisheries from the European Arctic to the western and central Pacific Ocean....

This publication includes contributions by Judges of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, eminent scholars and experienced practitioners. The papers deal with various aspects of maritime delimitation: the jurisprudence of international courts and tribunals and their relevance for delimitation, the impact of the Law of the Sea Convention, the role of legal practitioners and diplomatic negotiators, and delimitation under particular geological circumstances and in geographically complex regional situations. It is designed to provide insight and guidance to the complicated process...

This work analyzes the management of shared fish stocks; protection of the underwater cultural heritage; the possibilities of establishing marine protected areas and other means for safeguarding vulnerable marine ecosystems; the use of the high seas for intelligence as well as recent developments on interdiction of vessels on the high seas. Special emphasis is paid to the role of international courts and tribunals in the progressive development of the law of the sea as well as the ability of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to accommodate new uses and challenges, such as new concerns,...

Deep-sea genetic resources and the interest of the biotechnology industry in their exploitation are emerging as a significant challenge for international oceans governance. This book is the first comprehensive examination of this issue and explores its relationship with marine scientific research and other activities in the deep sea. As well as a detailed survey of the state of industry interest in this new field of biotechnology it also sets out proposals for future sustainable management of these resources utilizing many existing international law and policy regimes.

These collected essays examine different aspects of the modern law of the sea. They address many key provisions in the United Convention on the Law of the Sea, including its historical development, the substantive rules governing navigation, resources, the regime of the high seas, maritime jurisdiction, the protection of the marine environment and the delimitation of maritime boundaries, as well as the settlement of disputes. The essays also review the Implementation Agreement of 1994 concerning deep seabed mining and the Implementation Agreement of 1995 concerning Straddling and Highly...

This work reassesses the doctrine, and present-day status, of historic waters in the law of the sea, particularly in the light of the most recent decisions of the International Court of Justice which have referred to the topic and in the United States, such as Alaska v. US(2005) in which the author acted as expert witness for the US federal Government. The latter case forms a continuous theme throughout the book. Detailed and critical examination is made of the alleged rules in international customary law, including matters such as burden of proof.