60
Y. Jin
3.5 The Development Trend of the UNCLOS and China’s
Response
3.5.1 The Development Trend of the System of the UNCLOS
The development trend of the UNCLOS is mainly reflected in the following aspects.
The first is the development of the law-making mode. It can be concluded from the
development and the content of the UNCLOS that the UNCLOS is supplemented and
refined by adopting the method of improvement through formulating Implementation
Agreements, which can be regarded as an innovation in law-making.
64 Such practice
does not only avoid the difficulty in applying the ‘Amendment’ procedure of Article
312 and the simplified procedure of Article 313 of the UNCLOS but also enjoys
efficiency. Meanwhile, such practice is reasonable and in conformity to the norms
of Article 30 and Article 59 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
The second is the development of the law-making notion. It includes limiting
the principle of the freedom of the high seas, applying the principle of the common
heritage of mankind and strengthening the management of international organizations
on the sea for the purpose of realizing the goal of comprehensive management of
the sea and eliminating drawbacks of jurisdiction over a single marine affair.
65 Such
changes in the law-making notion are especially reflected in the progress of discussion
and examination of the issue of the conservation and sustainable use of marine
biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
The third is the necessity of multi-dimensional cooperation. In the UNCLOS,
there are many models and pathways of cooperation. They include three types such
as cooperation between related States (for example, Article 66, Article 94, Article 118
and Article 130), cooperation among all States (for example, Article 100, Article 108,
Article 117 and Article 303) and cooperation between a State and an international
organization (for example Paragraph 4–5 of Article 41, Article 61, Article 64 to
Article 65, and Article 197, Article 200 to Article 201, Article 242 to Article 244).
In terms of the content, they involve cooperation between a State and an international organization on the designation of sea lanes and traffic separation schemes in
straits used for international navigation, conservation and management of the living
resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone, protection and preservation of the marine
environment, marine scientific research and so on; cooperation among all States on
issues such as the repression of piracy on the high seas, the suppression of illicit
traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances engaged in by ships on the
high seas contrary to international conventions, measures for the conservation of the
living resources of the high seas, the protection of objects of an archaeological and
64 The law-making mode herein refers to the method and way of compiling customary international
law and developing it into a treaty. For example, Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 13 of the UN
Charter states that the General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the
purpose of promoting international cooperation in the political field and encouraging the progressive
development of international law and its codification.
65 See Kanehara (2016).
Y. Jin
3.5 The Development Trend of the UNCLOS and China’s
Response
3.5.1 The Development Trend of the System of the UNCLOS
The development trend of the UNCLOS is mainly reflected in the following aspects.
The first is the development of the law-making mode. It can be concluded from the
development and the content of the UNCLOS that the UNCLOS is supplemented and
refined by adopting the method of improvement through formulating Implementation
Agreements, which can be regarded as an innovation in law-making.
64 Such practice
does not only avoid the difficulty in applying the ‘Amendment’ procedure of Article
312 and the simplified procedure of Article 313 of the UNCLOS but also enjoys
efficiency. Meanwhile, such practice is reasonable and in conformity to the norms
of Article 30 and Article 59 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
The second is the development of the law-making notion. It includes limiting
the principle of the freedom of the high seas, applying the principle of the common
heritage of mankind and strengthening the management of international organizations
on the sea for the purpose of realizing the goal of comprehensive management of
the sea and eliminating drawbacks of jurisdiction over a single marine affair.
65 Such
changes in the law-making notion are especially reflected in the progress of discussion
and examination of the issue of the conservation and sustainable use of marine
biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
The third is the necessity of multi-dimensional cooperation. In the UNCLOS,
there are many models and pathways of cooperation. They include three types such
as cooperation between related States (for example, Article 66, Article 94, Article 118
and Article 130), cooperation among all States (for example, Article 100, Article 108,
Article 117 and Article 303) and cooperation between a State and an international
organization (for example Paragraph 4–5 of Article 41, Article 61, Article 64 to
Article 65, and Article 197, Article 200 to Article 201, Article 242 to Article 244).
In terms of the content, they involve cooperation between a State and an international organization on the designation of sea lanes and traffic separation schemes in
straits used for international navigation, conservation and management of the living
resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone, protection and preservation of the marine
environment, marine scientific research and so on; cooperation among all States on
issues such as the repression of piracy on the high seas, the suppression of illicit
traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances engaged in by ships on the
high seas contrary to international conventions, measures for the conservation of the
living resources of the high seas, the protection of objects of an archaeological and
64 The law-making mode herein refers to the method and way of compiling customary international
law and developing it into a treaty. For example, Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 13 of the UN
Charter states that the General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the
purpose of promoting international cooperation in the political field and encouraging the progressive
development of international law and its codification.
65 See Kanehara (2016).