1. International Law and Federal Regulations
Sources of Information:
- PCO Curriculum
- United Nations Website
NWP 1-14M (formerly NWP 9)
International Law for Seagoing Officers
NROTC Boston University

2. Lesson 27: International Law and Federal Regulations
AGENDA:
Convention on the Law of the Sea
Legal Divisions of the Oceans and Airspace
Navigation/Overflight of National Waters
Innocent Passage/Transit Passage
Legal Status of Ships and Aircraft
Environmental Agreement (MARPOL 73/78)
This topic covers:
A review of how and why the oceans are divided, and the state rights enjoyed by coastal nations in these regimes.
A review of the special status inferred upon government vessels, and the requirements for state vessels in transiting through the various ocean regimes.
A review of the special agreements that impact operations at sea.
UNCLASSIFIED

3. International Law
“International law is defined as that body of rules that nations consider binding in their relations with one another.”
Sources: International Agreements Practice of Nations/Common Law
Enforcement: International Court of Justice (ICJ) International Tribunal for the LOS
*The first topic to be covered is the divisions of the ocean as provided for by international law.
*The origins of the “Law of the Sea” date from the 7th century when local or area rules were established along trade routes, principally in the Mediterranean.
*Subsequent centuries witnessed the growth of conventional laws of the sea through the conclusion of many multilateral treaties. The culmination of international efforts to arrive at a common law of the sea by convention came with the two Geneva Conferences on the Law of the Sea in 1958 and 1960.
*The concept of “Freedom of the Seas” is generally an achievement of the 19th century, even though the roots of this doctrine reach back to at least 1604 in Grotius’ Mare Librum.

4. U.S. Navy Regulations ARTICLE 0705
“At all times, Commanders shall observe, and require their commands to observe, the principles of international law.”
“Where necessary to fulfil this responsibility, a departure from other provisions of Navy Regulations is authorized.”
* As Naval Officers, we are bound to observe international law as dictated by U.S. Navy Regulations, Article If our orders are in conflict with International Law, the requirements of International Law take precedence.
* Additionally, Article 1135 of U.S. Navy Regulations requires that all “DOD persons, in relations with foreign nationals, shall conform to International Law.”

5. UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1972-1982)
Legal Divisions of the Oceans and Airspace
Navigation/Overflight of National Waters
Legal Status of Ships and Aircraft
Note: The United States has not ratified this treaty but is party to it.
The LOS Convention came into force 16 Nov 94
*The 3rd UNCLOS was worked in 12 meetings from 1973 to In 1982 it was opened for signature and in 1994 it went into effect.
*The U.S. was not in agreement with the original convention due to the provisions governing “Deep Sea Bed Mining.” From 1990 to 1994 a separate ammendment to the covention was worked to correct these provisions to our satisfaction (Agreement to Ammend Part XI) The final version of the convention was submitted to the Senate for ratification on 07 Oct 1994.
*UNCLOS formally defines the Territorial Sea limit at 12 nm. The result of this formal extension:
-closed 135 straits
-eliminated 3 million nm2 of water formally designated as high seas.
*Due to this impingment of the high seas, the UNCLOS specifies 3 transit regimes which allow continued navigation through these waters:
-Innocent Passage
-Transit Passage
-Archipelagic Sea Lanes Passage
*Despite ongoing work on the treaty, the U.S. formally established our claims as:
-200nm EEZ (President Reagan)
-12nm Territorial Sea (President Reagan)

6. UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1972-1982)
“We must join the rest of the world in ratifying, at long last, the Convention on the Law of the Sea (applause). The Convention on the Law of the Sea extends the rule of law to the world’s oceans.”
12 Jun 98
*The 3rd UNCLOS was worked in 12 meetings from 1973 to In 1982 it was opened for signature and in 1994 it went into effect.
*The U.S. was not in agreement with the original convention due to the provisions governing “Deep Sea Bed Mining.” From 1990 to 1994 a separate ammendment to the covention was worked to correct these provisions to our satisfaction (Agreement to Ammend Part XI) The final version of the convention was submitted to the Senate for ratification on 07 Oct 1994.
*UNCLOS formally defines the Territorial Sea limit at 12 nm. The result of this formal extension:
-closed 135 straits
-eliminated 3 million nm2 of water formally designated as high seas.
*Due to this impingment of the high seas, the UNCLOS specifies 3 transit regimes which allow continued navigation through these waters:
-Innocent Passage
-Transit Passage
-Archipelagic Sea Lanes Passage
*Despite ongoing work on the treaty, the U.S. formally established our claims as:
-200nm EEZ (President Reagan)
-12nm Territorial Sea (President Reagan)

7. Legal Divisions of the Oceans and Airspace
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ( )
Legal Divisions of the Oceans and Airspace
Sources of Information:
- PCO Curriculum
- United Nations Website
NWP 1-14M (formerly NWP 9)
International Law for Seagoing Officers

8. OFFSHORE ZONES EEZ NATIONAL AIR SPACE INTERNATIONAL AIR SPACE
TERRITORIAL SEA
CONTIGUOUS ZONE
INTERNAL WATERS
EEZ
HIGH SEAS
12 NM
*The two most important markers on this diagram are the “baseline” and the “territorial sea” lines.
-The baseline is on prime importance because all other zones are measured from it. It also delineates the start of internal waters, into which permission of the coastal state is required prior to entry.
-The territorial sea line is important because it defines the limits of soveriegn territory, both on the sea and in the air. Seaward of the territorial sea line, the coastal state enjoys only “protective rights” as will be explained when discussing the Contiguous Zone and EEZ.
BASELINE
24 NM
200 NM

9. INTERNATIONAL WATERS COMPLETE FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION AND OVER-FLIGHT
For warships, this includes: – Task Force Maneuvering – Flight Operations – Military Exercises – Surveillance – Intelligence Gathering – Ordnance Testing And Firing
*International waters are those waters not subject to the territorial sovereignty of a state. As discussed this means all waters seaward of the territorial sea line.
*High seas freedoms of navigation and overflight are permitted as well as all operations normally associated with Naval forces at sea.
*Subsets of international waters include:
-Contiguous Zone
-Exclusive Economic Zone

10. EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE
U.S. Claim: 200 nm
LOS Limits: 200 nm
Purpose: Provides for the protection of natural resources.
Note:
Complete freedom of navigation and over-flight exist.
*The coastal state has the protective rights over resources in the EEZ. This includes resource management, environmental protection, and they may erect structures for the purpose of resource exploitation.
*The US claims a 200 nm EEZ; claimed in a Presidential ploclamation in 1983.
*The protective rights of the coastal state must be balanced with the high seas freedoms of all nations. As nations have developed in the 2oth century, this balance has become, at times, a contentious issue:
-Case Chile vs PACIFIC PINTAIL: This vessel was employed to carry nuclear waste from France to Japan. Its route was to take her through the EEZ of Chile. Chilean military vessels intercepted the PINTAIL and forced her to remain outside the 200 nm limit. Issue - protection of EEZ vs freedom of the high seas.
-Case Canada vs the European Union: Fishing vessels of the EU (Spain, Portugal) were intercepted by Canadian naval vessels to enforce Canadian imposed limits on the fishing of Turbot. Enforcement on at least one occasion included firing shots across the bow. Enforcement action took place in excess of the Canadian 200 nm EEZ, outside the Grand Banks. Issue - Freedom of the seas vs protection of resources in the EEZ.

11. CONTIGUOUS ZONE U.S. Claim = 12 nm LOS Limits = 24 nm
NOT A SECURITY ZONE
Purpose: to prevent infringement upon a nation’s customs, fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws.
Note:
Freedom of navigation and over-flight exist, but must not be detrimental to above.
*The US makes a 12 nm claim for our Contiguous Zone; measured from the baseline, it is concurrent with the territorial sea.
*Under the 1982 UNCLOS, states may claim a contiguous zone out to 24 nm from the baseline.
-States may enforce their laws as listed above in the zone, exercising only protective powers (as opposed to sovereign rights).
-The high seas freedom of navigation and overflight exist thrpough this zone; it has no operational impact on naval military operations.

12. TERRITORIAL SEA Limits: 12 nm from a measured baseline
Purpose: Extends the sovereignty of coastal states to the adjacent airspace and waters.
Determining Baselines:
Normal Baselines (Low Water Marks)
Straight Baselines
Legal/Historical Bays
Severe limits freedom of navigation and over-flight exist
*Traditionally, the baseline has been specified as the low water mark. However, due to coastal formations other methods to define the baseline were devised and accepted under International Law.
*Each of these other methods will be discussed in the following slides.
*Whatever the method of determining the baseline, the baseline should be detailed on the nation’s charts. Additionally, these claims can be found in:
-DOD Maritime Claims Manual (DOD M)
-World Vector Shoreline (CDROM)

13. STRAIGHT BASELINES BASELINE BASELINE INDENTED COASTLINE
*Straight baselines may be used in cases where the coastline is deeply indented or when there are closely held , fringing islands.
*The first claim for straight baselines came in 1951 in the Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries case. Since 1911, British fishing vessels were siezed by the Norwegians for allegedly being in their territorial seas (as specified by straight baseline). The British maintained that the fishing vessels were outside the 4nm territorial sea claim of Norway as measured in the traditonal sense from the low water mark. The International Court of Justice found in favor of the Norwegians. Subsequently, this provision was included in the 1958 Geneva Conference on the Law of the Sea.
*General rules for the use of straight baselines include:
-Baseline must follow the general direction of the coastline
-The water area must be closely linked to the land area
-The drawing of the baseline may not cut-off the high seas from the territorial waters of another coastal state.
-The U.S. maintains that the maximum length of the baseline may not exceed 24nm.
*Straight baselines apply to the exceptional circumstance
INDENTED COASTLINE
FRINGING ISLANDS

14. < or = 24NM ACROSS AREA BAY > AREA SEMI-CIRCLE
LEGAL BAYS
BASELINE
*A juridical bay is determined by:
-A well marked indentation of the coast; more than a mere curvature whose features contain “land-locked” water.
-The water area of the bay must be greater than that of a semicircle whose diameter is the length of line drawn across its mouth.
-The diameter cannot be greater than 24nm. Where islands are present in the mouth of the bay, the diameter (baseline) is the sum of the distances. In cases where the mouth is greater than 24nm, the baseline may be moved into the bay so as to enclose the maximum amount of water.
-”Bays” which fail this test are then subject to the traditional baselineline determination; at the low water mark, following the curvature of the coast.
-The US Supreme court has determined that Long Island and Block Island Sounds constitue juridical bays. (1985)
SEMI-CIRCLE TEST
< or = 24NM ACROSS AREA BAY > AREA SEMI-CIRCLE

15. HISTORIC BAYS MEDITERRANEAN SEA LIBYA GULF OF SIDRA 32 DEG 30 MIN
TRIPOLI
32 DEG 30 MIN
GULF OF SIDRA
BENGHAZI
*Historic Bays are bays recognized by the international community; the semicircle test is not applied in these cases.
*To meet the international standard, a nation must:
-Demonstrate its long term, open, effective and continuous authority over the bay, coupled with acquiescence by foreign nations in the exercise of that authority.
-The US position is that an actual showing of acquiescence of authority is required, as opposed to a mere absence of opposition.
* One of the more famous claims for a historic bay is the Gulf of Sidra, with a closure line of about 300 nm. This claim was first advanced in 1973, has not been accepted by the international community and has been the subject of frequent challenges. Only Syria, Sudan and Romania have publically recognized the claim.
*Other disputed claims include:
-Hudson Bay, claimed by Canada since 1926, with a 50 nm closure line.
-Peter the Great Bay, claimed by Russia (Soviet Union) in 1957, was protested by the US, Great Britain, France and Canada. The bay has a 102 nm closure line.
*US claims to historic bays include:
-Chesapeake and Delaware Bays and Mississippi Sound which are normally accepted as historic bays by the international community.
LIBYA
100NM

16. ARCHIPELAGIC NATIONS ARCHIPELAGIC BASELINE
*An archipelagic nation is one which is constituted wholly of one or more groups of islands; the group must form an intrinsic geographic, economic and political entity. Concept developed in the unilateral claims of the Philippines and Indonesia, now included in the 1982 UNCLOS.
*Continental countries possessing archipelagic islands which are not entitled to archipelagic status include:
-Hawaii and Aleutians (US)
-Canadian Arctic Islands
-Aegean archipelago (Greece)
-Galapagos (Ecuador)
While these islands qualify as archipelagoes in the geographic sense, they do not qualify in the political-legal sense.
*Such nations may draw straight archipelagic baselines joining the outer-most points of their outer most islands, provided:
-The ratio of water to land within the baselines is between 1:1 and 9:1
-Baselines may not exceed 100nm, although in some cases 125nm have been deemed acceptable.
*Water inside the baseline is termed “archipelagic waters.”
The nation may establish routes through these waters, however if no routes are established, nations may exercise transit through these waters in routes normally used for international navigation and overflight.

17. INNOCENT PASSAGE
Must not be prejudicial to peace, good order, or security.
Must be continuous, expeditious, and on the surface.
Prohibitions:
Launching/landing any aircraft or military device.
Exercises involving any weapons.
Any activity not having a direct bearing on passage
Stopping/Anchoring permitted only as required for safety of navigation.
*Key to innocent passage is “continuous and expeditious” passage. This does not necessarily imply a straight line passage.
*Stopping and anchoring in territorial seas is permissable as required for navigation requirements and pilot pick-up.
*Entry into territorial seas for other than innocent passage is permissible when the forces of nature and acts of God require the entry for the safety of the ship or crew.
* The determination of whether a passage is innocent must be made on the basis of acts committed/completed while in the territorial sea. It cannot be made on the basis of origin, cargo, destination or purpose.
*Coastal states may take action against vessels which they believe are not in innocent passage. By customary law and the 1982 UNCLOS, the actions should include:
1. Query of the vessel on their activities and an opportunity to cease.
2. If the vessels does not or will not cease the activity, the coastal state should order the vessel out of its territorial sea.
3. If the vessel refuses to leave, then the coastal state may take action as necessary, up to and including the use of force, to stop the action.
*The following two slides list those activities specifically prohibited during innocent passage. Key points include:
-The launching and recovery of aircraft is prohibited. This is in keeping with our discussion on national airspace, which is delimited by the width of the territorial sea
-Activities not having a bearing on the transit include the conduct of man overboard drills and the launching and recovery of the ship’s boats.

18. TRANSIT PASSAGE
International Straits With Overlapping Territorial Seas
“Normal Mode Of Operation”:
Submerged Transits Permitted For Submarines
Formation Steaming Permitted
Warships May Launch And Recover Aircraft
*Transit passage is the regime for transiting international straits with overlapping territorial seas. An international strait is defined as a strait which connects one area of EEZ or high sea with another.
*If territorial seas overlap, then transit passage applies. If not overlapped, then high seas freedoms exist in non-territorial waters only. In this case innocent passage would apply for transitting terrorial waters.
*If territorial seas overlap, then the transit passage regime applies to the entire straight (including approaches), even though you must pass through non-overlapped territorial seas in the approaches. If you are not exercising transit passage then other regimes will apply.

19. TRANSIT PASSAGE THAILAND MALAYSIA SOUTH CHINA SEA BORNEO SUMATRA JAVA
SINGAPORE
BORNEO
SUMATRA
*Some well known international straits include:
-Straits of Malacca (Malaysia and Sumatra)
-Straits of Gibralter
-Strait of Hormuz (Iran and Oman)
-Windward Passage
JAVA
15 days, 5,800 nm, and $7 million in additional fuel costs

20. Strait of Malacca Strait of Lombok
Strait of Malacca is 800 km (500 m) long and ranges from 50 to 320 km (30 to 200 m) in width
40,000 ships a year transit
Second busiest strait in the world
Twice the traffic of Strait of Gibraltar
1/3 of all ships in the world sail through one of the 3 the straits
14 of the world's top 20 busiest ports are in South Asia
15 days, 5,800 nm, and $7 million in additional fuel costs

21. FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION (FON) ASSERTIONS
Historic bays and waters
Baselines not IAW international law
Excessive territorial sea claims which restrict high seas freedoms
Security zones
Restrictions on innocent passage
*The above is a generalized listing of the type of claims which the US would challenge throught the Freedom of Navigation program.

22. WARSHIP INTERNATIONAL STATUS
WARSHIPS
AUXILIARIES
MILITARY AIRCRAFT
STATUS: SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY
See NAVREGS Article 0826
*Included with warships as “state vessels” are government controlled auxiliaries, military aircraft and civilian aircraft under contract to the Air Mobility Command (AMC).
*Each enjoys soverign immunity as “state vessels.”
-Boarding of the vessel is by CO’s permission only
-The CO is not required to consent to search or inspection, which includes requests for ship’s crew lists and inspections for health, customs purposes.
*Ships are required to comply with the host states traffic control, sewage, health and quaranteen restrictions; a failure to do so is subject only to diplomatic complaint and/or orders to immediately depart its territorial waters.
-May not be required to fly the host nation’s flag, although we may fly a foreign flag as a matter of policy or courtesy.
*Warships are immune from arrest or seizure both in national and international waters, are exempt from foreign taxes and exercise exclusion control over all passengers and crew with regard to their actions taken aboard.

23. U.S. Navy Regulations 0826. Search by Foreign Authorities.
1. The commanding officer shall not permit a ship under his or her command to be searched on any pretense whatsoever by any person representing a foreign state, nor permit any of the personnel within the confines of his or her command to be removed from the command by any such person, so long as he or she has the capacity to repel such act. If force should be exerted submission, the commanding officer is to resist that force to the utmost of his or her power.
*Included with warships as “state vessels” are government controlled auxiliaries, military aircraft and civilian aircraft under contract to the Air Mobility Command (AMC).
*Each enjoys soverign immunity as “state vessels.”
-Boarding of the vessel is by CO’s permission only
-The CO is not required to consent to search or inspection, which includes requests for ship’s crew lists and inspections for health, customs purposes.
*Ships are required to comply with the host states traffic control, sewage, health and quaranteen restrictions; a failure to do so is subject only to diplomatic complaint and/or orders to immediately depart its territorial waters.
-May not be required to fly the host nation’s flag, although we may fly a foreign flag as a matter of policy or courtesy.
*Warships are immune from arrest or seizure both in national and international waters, are exempt from foreign taxes and exercise exclusion control over all passengers and crew with regard to their actions taken aboard.

24. Law of the Sea Summary Legal Divisions of Oceans and Airspace
Baselines
Territorial Sea , Contiguous Zone, High Seas
Innocent Passage, Transit Passage
International Status of US Warships
Sovereign Immunity

25. MARPOL 73/78
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78)
First ever comprehensive anti-pollution convention.
Not only deals with pollution by oil, but also pollution by other chemicals, harmful substances, garbage, and sewage.