p. 1438. The international law of the sea
- Anders HenriksenAnders HenriksenFormer Professor, Centre for International Law and Justice, University of Copenhagen
Abstract
The international law of the sea is one of the oldest disciplines of public international law. In fact, the identification and application of principles for governing the roughly 70 per cent of the earth’s surface that consists of water has been a topic of interest for centuries. This chapter deals with the main principles and rules that make up the international legal regulation of the seas. It begins by discussing the most important legal sources in the law of the sea, including the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention. It then discusses the spatial partitioning of the sea and the different maritime zones that exist in the law of the sea; discusses piracy; and examines a number of selected issues relating to the conservation of marine life. The final section provides a short introduction to dispute settlement in the law of the sea.