contracting party who made the submission to the Commission on the Limits of the
CS (Portugal and the United Kingdom).
58
The “from top to bottom” model does not support the thesis of the Area as
perfectly synonymous with the deep seabed.
3 Jurisdiction of States
For the purposes of this chapter, it seems appropriate to address two considerations
about states. The first is related to their proximity to the ABNJ (Sect. 3.1) and claims
made on that basis (Sect. 3.2). The second has to do with the jurisdiction of the states
in the ABNJ (Sect. 3.3), and, hence, the role of certain international organisations
(Sect. 3.4).
3.1 Proximity Versus Adjacency
International law identifies the territory of a state as the space where the state
exercises its territorial sovereignty.
59 UNCLOS clearly states which marine areas
fall under the sovereignty of the coastal state.
60 In the marine areas adjacent to its
territory (EEZ, CS), the coastal state exercises certain, clearly delimited competences
and jurisdiction.
In reality, these spaces beyond national jurisdiction are often identified as part of
the state, and not just colloquially or at the political level or with regard to coastal
states’ positions vis-à-vis third parties. States often use a functional notion of
“territory” to facilitate the exercise of their jurisdiction, a notion that encompasses
not only the territory per se but also the other areas under national jurisdiction. One
example is the European Union.
61 For the purposes of the application of European
Union law, the reference to the “territory of the Member States” includes the EEZ
and the CS. However, the use of this functional notion does not change the legal
framework: the European Union cannot exercise competences in these spaces that
have not been recognised as pertaining to coastal states under UNCLOS. The
58 Rainbow Hydrothermal Vent Field (Portugal); Hatton Bank SAC (United Kingdom); HattonRockall Basin (United Kingdom). Ibid.
59 On the territory of the state, see e.g. Barberis (2001).
60 UNCLOS distinguishes between “territory” and “territorial sea” in Art. 33, 79 and 303. However,
the wording of Art. 2 clears up any doubts: “1. The sovereignty of a coastal State extends, beyond its
land territory and internal waters and, in the case of an archipelagic State, its archipelagic waters, to
an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea. 2. This sovereignty extends to the air space
over the territorial sea as well as to its bed and subsoil. (. . .)”.
61 See, e.g.: González Vega (2013) and Quindimil López (2014).
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M. Sobrido-Prieto
CS (Portugal and the United Kingdom).
58
The “from top to bottom” model does not support the thesis of the Area as
perfectly synonymous with the deep seabed.
3 Jurisdiction of States
For the purposes of this chapter, it seems appropriate to address two considerations
about states. The first is related to their proximity to the ABNJ (Sect. 3.1) and claims
made on that basis (Sect. 3.2). The second has to do with the jurisdiction of the states
in the ABNJ (Sect. 3.3), and, hence, the role of certain international organisations
(Sect. 3.4).
3.1 Proximity Versus Adjacency
International law identifies the territory of a state as the space where the state
exercises its territorial sovereignty.
59 UNCLOS clearly states which marine areas
fall under the sovereignty of the coastal state.
60 In the marine areas adjacent to its
territory (EEZ, CS), the coastal state exercises certain, clearly delimited competences
and jurisdiction.
In reality, these spaces beyond national jurisdiction are often identified as part of
the state, and not just colloquially or at the political level or with regard to coastal
states’ positions vis-à-vis third parties. States often use a functional notion of
“territory” to facilitate the exercise of their jurisdiction, a notion that encompasses
not only the territory per se but also the other areas under national jurisdiction. One
example is the European Union.
61 For the purposes of the application of European
Union law, the reference to the “territory of the Member States” includes the EEZ
and the CS. However, the use of this functional notion does not change the legal
framework: the European Union cannot exercise competences in these spaces that
have not been recognised as pertaining to coastal states under UNCLOS. The
58 Rainbow Hydrothermal Vent Field (Portugal); Hatton Bank SAC (United Kingdom); HattonRockall Basin (United Kingdom). Ibid.
59 On the territory of the state, see e.g. Barberis (2001).
60 UNCLOS distinguishes between “territory” and “territorial sea” in Art. 33, 79 and 303. However,
the wording of Art. 2 clears up any doubts: “1. The sovereignty of a coastal State extends, beyond its
land territory and internal waters and, in the case of an archipelagic State, its archipelagic waters, to
an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea. 2. This sovereignty extends to the air space
over the territorial sea as well as to its bed and subsoil. (. . .)”.
61 See, e.g.: González Vega (2013) and Quindimil López (2014).
454
M. Sobrido-Prieto