Naval operations in the new law of the sea

Abstract

The United Nations Law of the Sea Convention of 1982 has been instrumental in improving normal day-to-day maritime operations in the aura of international relations within the concept of the "Common Heritage of Mankind," which may be interpreted as the ongoing struggle to ensure navigational freedom. Although the Convention is regarded as providing a peacetime regime for the law of the sea, the areas it defines subject to coastal State sovereignty or the exercise of other forms of national jurisdiction have a significant effect on the exercise of both belligerent and neutral rights during time of armed conflict. This research paper will analyse the UN Law of the Sea Convention of 1982 with regards to the legal implications and effects this has on naval operations in time of peace and war. It is also intended to bring up certain points of legal concern, which have not been properly examined or included in the Convention and which, unless analysed further by the competent body, may have unprecedented effects in the way present-day naval operations are conducted.