Select Provisions From the UNCLOS III

8/18/2019 Select Provisions From the UNCLOS III

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Selected provisions from the

1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

(UNCLOS III)

1. BASELINES Article 5

Normal baseline

Except where otherwise provided in this Convention, the normal baseline for

measuring the breadth of the territorial sea is the low-water line along the

coast as marked on large-scale charts ocially recognized by the coastal

State

2. ARCHIPELAGIC STATES

A) STRAIGHT ARCHIPELAGIC BASELINESB) ARCHIPELAGIC WATERS

Article !

Archipelagic Baselines

!o determine the extent of archipelagic waters, the archipelagic state

shall draw straight baselines connecting the outermost points of the outermost

islands and drying reefs, provided that"

• ratio of the area of the water to the area of the land, including atolls, is

between #"# and $"#

• !he length of such baselines shall not exceed #%% nautical miles, except that

up to &' of the total number of baseline enclosing any archipelago may

exceed that length up to a maximum of #() miles

!he baselines drawn should not depart, to any appreciable extent, from

the general con*guration of the archipelago+ll the waters within the baselines shall then be considers as internal

waters !he breadth of the #( mile territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the

exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf shall then be measured

from the archipelagic baselines

N"" +rchipelagic aters. cover both the conventional internal waters.

/those found within the land0 and all the bodies of waters within the baselines

of an archipelago, whether they lie within land or not

C) ARCHIPELAGIC SEA LANES PASSAGE

Article 22

Sea lanes and trafc separation schemes in the territorial sea

# !he coastal State may, where necessary having regard to the safety

of navigation, re1uire foreign ships exercising the right of innocent passage


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through its territorial sea to use such sea lanes and trac separation schemes

as it may designate or prescribe for the regulation of the passage of ships

( 2n particular, tankers, nuclear-powered ships and ships carrying

nuclear or other inherently dangerous or noxious substances or materials may

be re1uired to con*ne their passage to such sea lanes

& 2n the designation of sea lanes and the prescription of tracseparation schemes under this article, the coastal State shall take into

account"/a0 the recommendations of the competent international organization3/b0 any channels customarily used for international navigation3/c0 the special characteristics of particular ships and channels3 and/d0 the density of trac

4 !he coastal State shall clearly indicate such sea lanes and trac

separation schemes on charts to which due publicity shall be given

3. INTERNAL WATERS

Article 8Internal waters

# Except as provided in 5art 26, waters on the landward side of the baseline of

the territorial sea form part of the internal waters of the State

( here the establishment of a straight baseline in accordance with the

method set forth in article 7 has the e8ect of enclosing as internal waters

areas which had not previously been considered as such, a right of innocent

passage as provided in this Convention shall exist in those waters

9:" !he second paragraph covers the archipelagic waters.

;2n archipelagic waters, foreign ships may exercise the right ofinnocent passage +s per the *rst paragraph, the same right does not

exist in waters located within


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accordance with this Convention

5. EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE

Article 5$

Rights, urisdiction and duties o the coastal State in the exclusive economic

!one

# 2n the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State has"

/a0 sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and

managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters

super=acent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to

other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such

as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds3

/b0 =urisdiction as provided for in the relevant provisions of this Convention with

regard to"/i0 the establishment and use of arti*cial islands, installations and

structures3/ii0 marine scienti*c research3/iii0 the protection and preservation of the marine environment3

/c0 other rights and duties provided for in this Convention

( 2n exercising its rights and performing its duties under this Convention in the

exclusive economic zone, the coastal State shall have due regard to the rights

and duties of other States and shall act in a manner compatible with the

provisions of this Convention

& !he rights set out in this article with respect to the seabed and subsoil shall

be exercised in accordance with 5art 62

Article 5!

Breadth o the exclusive economic !one

!he exclusive economic zone shall not extend beyond 2%% na&tical 'iles from the

baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured

*CONTIGUOUS ZONE

Article ##

"ontiguous !one

# 2n a zone contiguous to its territorial sea, described as the contiguous zone,

the coastal State may exercise the control necessary to"

/a0 prevent infringement of its customs, *scal, immigration or sanitary

laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea3/b0 punish infringement of the above laws and regulations committed

within its territory or territorial sea

( !he contiguous zone may not extend beyond 2 na&tical 'iles from the

baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured


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Select Provisions From the UNCLOS III

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