Preface
The international law of the sea is one of the most dynamic areas of contemporary
international law. The radical transformation of international law of the sea that
began in 1945 with the emergence of the legal concept of continental shelf did not
end in 1982 with the conclusion of the negotiations on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The ‘Constitution of the Oceans’, as a framework
convention, provides adequate responses to the international legal regulation of a
very diverse range of matters, but, at the same time, shows the limitations arising
from the historical epoch in which it was negotiated. It should be stressed that a
number of legal problems have arisen in recent decades which require innovative
legal solutions and imply a balance between global interests, sovereign powers and
the jurisdiction of coastal States. Relevant examples are the need to find regional and
global legal responses to the preservation of marine biodiversity, the effects that the
sea level rise could have on the terrestrial territory of States, on the demarcation lines
of their spaces and on the forced displacement of their populations, the transformation of the Arctic frozen space into an ocean open to international navigation and the
exploitation of living and non-living natural resources.
This book has been organized and structured as a contribution to the understanding of the tension arising from the need to provide innovative legal solutions to new
and complex issues of a global scope and nature and the relevance of international
legal concepts that were created and established by State practice when the sea was
an endless space and timid progress was made regarding the conservation of living
resources. The first readers of this volume are international lawyers interested in
following the evolution of some important areas of international law of the sea, in
particular the role played for its progressive development by international organizations and conflict resolution mechanisms as well as the current challenges and
achievements on the conservation and sustainable use of areas beyond national
jurisdiction. Considering the way in which chapters have been structured and
written, it may be equally suited to readers interested in the academic literature on
the functioning of international regimes applicable to the seas and oceans as well as
ix
The international law of the sea is one of the most dynamic areas of contemporary
international law. The radical transformation of international law of the sea that
began in 1945 with the emergence of the legal concept of continental shelf did not
end in 1982 with the conclusion of the negotiations on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The ‘Constitution of the Oceans’, as a framework
convention, provides adequate responses to the international legal regulation of a
very diverse range of matters, but, at the same time, shows the limitations arising
from the historical epoch in which it was negotiated. It should be stressed that a
number of legal problems have arisen in recent decades which require innovative
legal solutions and imply a balance between global interests, sovereign powers and
the jurisdiction of coastal States. Relevant examples are the need to find regional and
global legal responses to the preservation of marine biodiversity, the effects that the
sea level rise could have on the terrestrial territory of States, on the demarcation lines
of their spaces and on the forced displacement of their populations, the transformation of the Arctic frozen space into an ocean open to international navigation and the
exploitation of living and non-living natural resources.
This book has been organized and structured as a contribution to the understanding of the tension arising from the need to provide innovative legal solutions to new
and complex issues of a global scope and nature and the relevance of international
legal concepts that were created and established by State practice when the sea was
an endless space and timid progress was made regarding the conservation of living
resources. The first readers of this volume are international lawyers interested in
following the evolution of some important areas of international law of the sea, in
particular the role played for its progressive development by international organizations and conflict resolution mechanisms as well as the current challenges and
achievements on the conservation and sustainable use of areas beyond national
jurisdiction. Considering the way in which chapters have been structured and
written, it may be equally suited to readers interested in the academic literature on
the functioning of international regimes applicable to the seas and oceans as well as
ix