University of Zagreb

Faculty of Law
Department of International Law

Course: International Law of the Sea

Taught by: Professor Maja Seršić & Dr. Trpimir M. Šošić, Assistant Professor
Requirements: completed course in Public International Law

COURSE OUTLINE

1st meeting
Introduction: course outline; aim of the course; method of knowledge evaluation

2nd meeting
Sources of the law of the sea. Early development of the law of the sea. Codification of the law of
the sea: Hague Codification Conference, 1930; 1st UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1958; 2nd
UN Confernce on the Law of the Sea, 1960; 3rd UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1973-1982;
Ratification process of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC).

3rd meeting
Overview of maritime zones according to LOSC. Internal waters: legal regime; acess to ports.
Baselines: normal baselines; straight baslines; bays; river mouths; harbour works; low-tide elevations.

4th meeting
Territorial sea: concept of the territorial sea; breadth of the territorial sea; right of innocent passage;
rights and duties of the coastal state; delimitation of the territorial sea.

5th meeting
Archipelagic waters: concept of archipelagic waters; definition of the terms “archipelago” and
“archipelagic state”; archipelagic baselines. Contiguous zone: emergence of the concept; breadth of
the contiguous zone; legal status of the contiguous zone; archaeological and historical objects.

6th meeting
Continental shelf: development of the continental shelf; Truman Proclamation, 1945; 1958 Geneva
Convention on the Continental Shelf; seaward limit of the continental shelf (1958 Geneva
Convention, LOSC); rights of the coastal state over the continental shelf; rights of other states in the
continental shelf; delimitation of continental shelves.

7th meeting
Exclusive economic zone (EEZ): development of the concept; breadth of the EEZ; rights, jurisdiction
and duties of the coastal state (Art. 56 LOSC); rights and duties of other states in the EEZ; relationship
between EEZ and continental shelf (Art. 56, para. 3 LOSC).

1
8th meeting
High seas: the legal status of the high seas; freedom of the high seas; jurisdiction on the high seas;
piracy; rights under special treaties; hot pursuit and constructive presence; high seas fisheries.

9th meeting
International Seabed Area: background and development of the legal concept; the Area as the
common heritage of mankind; “pioneer investors”; the system of exploitation according to Part XI
LOSC; International Seabed Authority; 1994 Part XI Agreement. Straits used for international
navigation: transit passage; innocent passage; freedom of navigation; special regimes.

10th meeting
Protection of the marine environment: sources of marine pollution; the framework of international
law relating to marine pollution; protection of special areas. Settlement of disputes: Part XV LOSC;
mechanism for the compulsory settlement of disputes; choice of procedure: International Tribunal for
the Law of the Sea, International Court of Justice, Annex VII arbitral tribunal or Annex VIII special
arbitral tribunal; exceptions.

11th meeting
Conclusion. Recapitulation. Q&A.

Essential reading:

 R. R. Churchill, A. V. Lowe, The Law of the Sea, 3rd ed., Manchester University Press:
Manchester, 1999.
 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Montego Bay, 10 December 1982; English
text available at:
<http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf>.

Further reading:
 E. D. Brown, The International Law of the Sea, Vols. I (Introductory Manual) & II
(Documents, Cases and Tables), Dartmouth Publishing Company: Aldershot, 1994.
 D. Freestone, R. Barnes, D. Ong (eds.), The Law of the Sea: Progress and Prospects, Oxford
University Press: Oxford, 2006.
 J. Harrison, Making the Law of the Sea, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2011.
 T. Scovazzi, “The Evolution of International Law of the Sea: New Issues, New Challenges”,
286 Recueil des cours de l’Académie de droit international de La Haye, 2000, pp. 39-244.
 B. Vukas, The Law of the Sea: Selected Writings, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers: Leiden, 2004.

Useful websites:
 UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea:
<http://www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm>.
 International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: <http://www.itlos.org/>.
 International Seabed Authority: <http://www.isa.org.jm/en/home>.