SOURCE:

Faculty: Law
Department: Law

CONTRIBUTORS:

Agama, F. O.
Nwakoby, G. C.
Oji, E. A.

ABSTRACT:

The seas have historically performed two important functions: first as a medium of communication, and secondly as a vast reservoir of resources, both living and non-living. These functions stimulated the development of legal rules of the seas. The seas were at one time thought to be subject to national sovereignties; that was why certain nations, the Portuguese in particular, in the seventeenth century proclaimed huge tracts of the high seas as part of their territorial domain. These claims provoked a response by Grotius who elaborated the doctrine of the open seas, whereby, according to him, the ocean as res communis(public domain) were to be accessible to all nations but incapable of appropriation by any nation. The freedom of the seas rapidly became a cardinal principle of international law. However, not all the seas were so characterized as it was permissible for a coastal State to appropriate a maritime belt around its coastline as territorial water and treat same as an indivisible part of its domain. Beyond the territorial sea, coastal States may now exercise certain jurisdictional functions in the Contiguous zones, Continental Shelf and even in the Exclusive Economic Zone. The predominance of the concept of the freedom of the high seas has been modified by the realization of resources present in the seas and seabed beyond the territorial seas. The proclamation of the high seas as a ‘common heritage of mankind’ has laid bare the divergent States interests in the exploitation of the seabed resources with its attendant convolutions. Sequel to this are, initiatives in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, beginning in 1967, to deal with the resources of the seabed “beyond national jurisdiction” culminating in the Third UN Law of the Sea Conference at which virtually the whole of the existing law of the sea was re-examined. Similar provisions were made with regard to exploration and exploitation of outer space resources in the areas designated to be beyond national jurisdiction. These initiatives reflect the increasing interests in and associated concerns about the potential use of these resources and how competent authorities at the national and international levels will regulate this emerging economic development opportunity in a sustainable manner in areas within and beyond national jurisdiction. To this end therefore, and in addition to examining the relevant provisions of these laws, this work sets out to reveal how far these laws which regulate the attitudes of States towards exploration and exploitation of the sea resources have in essence, represented and solved the problems of the divergent States interests in the exploitation of the economic resources in certain juridical zones of the sea, including the ‘Area’ which is declared to be beyond national jurisdiction. This research work has general interest in the sea and exploitation of economic resources embedded therein, but with particular focus on how the present legal regime of the sea has solved the nagging problem of divergent States interests in the sea. It is also the objective of this work that through its guided recommendations, wider and more effective representation of these various States interests in the sea would be achieved. A doctrinal method is adopted in this work and comprises descriptive and analytical approaches and examination of relevant statutes, conventions, and case law. At the end, this research reveals that the relevant articles of the present regime of the sea (UNCLOS) with regard to the rights of full participation in the exploitation of economic resources in the juridical zones of the sea especially the Area beyond national jurisdiction failed to take due cognizance of the conditions and interests of developing States especially landlocked ones, and the geographically disadvantaged States. However, this research observes and applauds the present regime for the introduction of an innovative system of dispute settlement on the Law of the Sea. This work makes a number of recommendations which, if adopted and utilized, will guarantee a wider and more effective representation, and enhance the rights of access and participation of the various interest-States in the exploitation of the economic resources of the sea.