Unit name | International Law of the Sea |
---|---|
Unit code | LAWDM0028 |
Credit points | 30 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Professor Sir. Evans |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit examines the history and evolution of law of the sea, and in particular, the legal regime of the 1982 UN Convention. In particular, it examines the various zones within which maritime jurisdiction is exercised: the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, the continental shelf, the high seas and the deep sea bed. It explores and explains the legal regulation of a range of activities such as passage and resource exploration and exploitation, whilst at the same time considering the range of political factors that have shaped the development of the law. Particular attention is paid to the construction of baselines and to the delimitation of maritime zones in state practice and before the International Court of Justice. The regulation of fishing and the principles bearing upon the exercise of jurisdiction at sea are also focused upon. Moreover, the unit discusses the dispute settlement mechanisms and the linkages of the law of the sea with other normative systems and regimes, such as the WTO and the UN Charter, in particular Chapter VII, as well as the implications of the Proliferation Security Initiative and the "war against terror" on the freedom of navigation.
Aims:
1. to understand the general principles and methods of interpretation of the UNCLOS
2. to understand the case-law of the ITLOS, ICJ, and Arbitral Tribunal, with regard to the law of the sea
3. to understand the particular features of the dispute settlement at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
4. to be able to identify the legal problems of the law of the sea posed by complex factual situations and to understand how the applicable norms provide answers to such problems;
5. to discuss and understand the relationship between the legal concepts of the law of the sea and the geographical and geo-morphological configuration and concepts.
By the end of this unit, students are expected to be able to:
1. demonstrate a sound understanding of the fundamental concepts, principles, and methods of the law of the sea, including jurisdiction
2. show a good understanding of the nature of the legal and political disputes on the law of the sea
3. show an understanding, and make a reasoned critique, of the case-law of the ICJ, ITLOS, and Arbitral Tribunal with regard to the law of the sea, in particular with regard to the delimitation of maritime zones
4. show a good understanding of the evolution of the law of the sea, including the relationship between customary and treaty law of the law, as well as of relationship between UNCLOS with other legal regimes related to the law of the sea.
Two-hour seminars (ten)
One formative essay
A 3-hour written exam
1. Churchill/Lowe, Law of the Sea, 3rd edition, 1999
2. Evans, International Law Documents, 8th edition, OUP, 2007
3. Max-Planck Encyclopaedia of Public International Law (electronic resource, we are already subscribed to it)
4. Freestone/Barnes/Ong, The Law of the Sea Progress and Prospects, OUP, 2006