Unclos Ii
ASSIGNMENT ON THE LAW OF THE SEA
UNCLOS II, 1960
SUBMITTED BY, INDULEKHA JOSEPH ROLL NO 13, 8th semester
INTRODUCTION
For centuries, the law of sea was based on the concept of freedom of the seas, with nations' control of the oceans limited to narrow bands adjacent to their coasts. By the middle of the twentieth century, as the nations increased their capability to engage in long range fishing and commercial extraction, concerns arose about pollution and the exhaustibility of ocean resources. In addition, the concept of freedom of the seas was eroding, as many nations had asserted sovereignty over wider areas, claiming rights to the resources of the continental shelf and the water above. It became necessary to develop a treaty-based regime for ocean governance.
After the Second World War, the international community requested that the United Nations International law Commission to consider codifying the existing laws relating to the oceans. The commission began working towards this in 1949 and prepared four draft conventions, which were adopted at the first UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1958. There are certain areas in which first conference failed to take decisions. Hence the Second United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS II) was held from March 17 to April 26, of 1960.
CIRCUMSTANCES RESULTING IN THE CONFERENCE The law of the sea developed from the struggle between coastal states, who sought to expand their control over marine areas adjacent to their coastlines. By the end of the 18th century, it was understood that the states had sovereignty over their territorial sea. Territorial sea means sea which is adjacent to the coastal state over which the state exercises sovereignty. There
UNCLOS II, 1960
SUBMITTED BY, INDULEKHA JOSEPH ROLL NO 13, 8th semester
INTRODUCTION
For centuries, the law of sea was based on the concept of freedom of the seas, with nations' control of the oceans limited to narrow bands adjacent to their coasts. By the middle of the twentieth century, as the nations increased their capability to engage in long range fishing and commercial extraction, concerns arose about pollution and the exhaustibility of ocean resources. In addition, the concept of freedom of the seas was eroding, as many nations had asserted sovereignty over wider areas, claiming rights to the resources of the continental shelf and the water above. It became necessary to develop a treaty-based regime for ocean governance.
After the Second World War, the international community requested that the United Nations International law Commission to consider codifying the existing laws relating to the oceans. The commission began working towards this in 1949 and prepared four draft conventions, which were adopted at the first UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1958. There are certain areas in which first conference failed to take decisions. Hence the Second United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS II) was held from March 17 to April 26, of 1960.
CIRCUMSTANCES RESULTING IN THE CONFERENCE The law of the sea developed from the struggle between coastal states, who sought to expand their control over marine areas adjacent to their coastlines. By the end of the 18th century, it was understood that the states had sovereignty over their territorial sea. Territorial sea means sea which is adjacent to the coastal state over which the state exercises sovereignty. There