| Introduction | jurisprudence |
| relevant Case laws | anglo- Norwegian fisheries case |
| conclusion | decision as per our reasoning |
Rights of States over Territorial Sea (The Juridical Nature of the territorial Sea)
There have been a number of theories as to the precise legal character of the territorial sea of the coastal State, ranging from treating the territorial sea as part of the res communis, but subject to certain rights
exercisable by the coastal State, to regarding the territorial sea as part of the coastal State’s territorial domain subject to a right of innocent passage by foreign vessels.
Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention on the Territorial Sea, 1958 provide that the Coastal State’s sovereignty extends over its territorial sea and to the airspace and seabed and subsoil thereof, subject to the
provisions of the Convention and of international law.
The coastal State may, if it so desires, exclude foreign nationals and vessels from fishing within its territorial sea and (subject to agreements to the contrary) from coastal trading and reserve these activities for its
own citizens.
Article 3 of the 1982 Convention, however, settled the issue byproviding that all States have the right to establish the breadth of the territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles from the baselines determined in accordance with this Convention. This clearly accords with the evolving practice of States. The UK adopted a 12-mile limit in the Territorial Sea Act, 1987, for instance, as did the US in 1988.
Article 24: Duties of the Coastal State
- The Coastal State shall not hamper the innocent passage of foreign ships through the territorial sea except in accordance with this Convention. In particular, in the application of this Convention or of any laws or regulations adopted in conformity with this Convention the Coastal State shall not:
(a) impose requirements on foreign ships which have the practical effect of denying or impairing the rights of innocent passage; or
(b) discriminate in form or in fact against the ships of any State or against ships carrying cargoes to, from or on behalf of any State. - The coastal State shall give appropriate publicity to any danger of navigation, of which it has knowledge, within its territorial sea.
Rights of Coastal States in Continental Shelf:
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which came into force in 1994, the continental shelf that borders a country’s shoreline is considered to be a continuation of the country’s land territory.
Coastal countries have exclusive rights to resources located within the continental shelf, which legally is defined as the seabed up to roughly 370 km (200 nautical miles) from shore or to the outer edge of the continental margin, whichever is farther, subject to an overall limit of about 650 km (350 nautical miles) from the coast or about 185 km (100 nautical miles) beyond the 2,500-metre (8,200-foot) isobath, or line connecting equal points of water depth.
A country with a continental shelf that extends farther than 200 nautical miles from its shoreline has 10 years from the date it ratified UNCLOS to submit a claim on the part of the shelf that occurs beyond the 200-nautical-mile limit. In the first decade of the 21st century, several countries with Arctic coastlines made competing claims on the extended continental shelf regions within the Arctic Ocean.
Where the territorial waters, EEZs, or continental shelves of neighbouring countries overlap, a boundary line must be drawn by agreement to achieve an equitable solution. Many such boundaries have been agreed upon, but in some cases when the countries have been unable to reach agreement the boundary has been determined by the International Court of Justice (ICJ; e.g., the boundary between Bahrain and Qatar) or by an arbitration tribunal (e.g., the boundary between France and the United Kingdom). The most common form of boundary is an equidistance line (sometimes modified to take account of special circumstances) between the coasts concerned.
Indian Position on Continental Shelf:
Indian position on continental shelf has been made clear under Section 6 of the Maritime Zones Act of 1976. Part 1 of the section lays down that, the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 meters, or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural resources of the said areas.
Relevant Case Laws:
Anglo – Norwegian Fisheries Case( UK vs Norway)
North Sea Continental Shelf Cases ICJ Reports, 1969, p.3
