1

LAW OF THE SEA:LEGAL DIVISIONS &

COASTAL STATE RIGHTS

2

5050

Maritime Zones

High SeasHigh Seas

Exclusive Exclusive EconomicEconomic

ZoneZone

Territorial Territorial SeaSea

LandLandContiguousContiguous

ZoneZone

200 NM200 NM

12 NM12 NM24 NM24 NM

Internal Internal WatersWaters

3

Maritime Baselines

• Normal Baseline

• Straight Baselines

4

• Deeply Indented Coast & Fringing Islands

• Highly Unstable Coastlines• Certain Low-Tide Elevations• River Mouths• Reefs• Harbor Works• Roadsteads

Straight Baselines

5

Straight Baselines

6

ISLANDSISLANDSAND AND LOW-TIDE LOW-TIDE ELEVATIONSELEVATIONS

96-CD59896-CD598

7

• Juridical Bays

• Historic Bays

MARITIME BASELINES (CONTD.)

Chesapeake Bay

8

JURIDICAL BAYJURIDICAL BAY

96-CD60096-CD600

9

JURIDICAL BAYWITH MOUTH EXCEEDING 24NM

CLOSURERULE

10Bay with Islands

11

• Internal Waters– Coastal State Permission– Canals Used for International Navigation

• Territorial Sea– Permitted Restrictions on Innocent

Passage– Rocks and Islands

• Archipelagic Waters

NATIONAL WATERS

12

ROCK OR ISLAND?

13

ARCHIPELAGIC STATE

14

• Contiguous Zone– customs, fiscal, immigration, sanitary laws

• Exclusive Economic Zone– sovereign rights to all natural resources

• Continental Shelf– sovereign rights to sea-bed & subsoil

• High Seas– no coastal state sovereignty or sovereign

rights

INTERNATIONAL WATERS

15

• Warning Zones– advisory only; duty not to interfere

• Maritime Boundary Delimitation– territorial sea: median line– EEZ & continental shelf: equitable

INTERNATIONAL WATERS

16

AIRSPACE

• National Airspace– complete sovereignty

• International Airspace– no sovereignty– Warning Areas– Flight Information

Regions– Air Defense

Identification Zones

• Outer Space

17

18