Law of the sea (or ocean law) is a body of international law governing the rights and duties of states in maritime environments.[1] It concerns matters such as navigational rights, sea mineral claims, and coastal waters jurisdiction. The connotation of ocean law is somewhat broader, but the law of the sea (anchored in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)) is so comprehensive that it covers all areas of ocean law as well (e.g., marine environmental law, maritime law).
While drawn from a number of international customs, treaties, and agreements, modern law of the sea derives largely from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. That convention is effective since 1994, and is generally accepted as a codification of customary international law of the sea, and is sometimes regarded as the "constitution of the oceans".[2][3]
Law of the sea is the public law counterpart to admiralty law (also known as maritime law), which applies to private maritime issues, such as the carriage of goods by sea, rights of salvage, ship collisions, and marine insurance.
- ^ James Harrison, Making the Law of the Sea: A Study in the Development of International Law (2011), p. 1.
- ^ "Rhodian Sea Law | Byzantine law". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
- ^ "Law of the Sea | international law [1982]". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-06-27.