This book discusses contemporary challenges within the law of the sea, a domain of international law extensively codified in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Given the considerable time elapsed since the conventions adoption and nearly three decades of its implementation, the book analyses the interplay and influence of its provisions on international customary law, as well as to identify issues arising from its application. The book explores and discusses crucial aspects of the law of the sea, addressing challenges and future perspectives related to UNCLOS provisions, such as the delimitation of maritime areas, maritime security, safety, environmental protection, and the implications of advancing technologies, particularly in the realm of unmanned vessels. Additionally, the book delves into recent maritime legal challenges arising from the conflict in Ukraine and the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The book will be of interest to students and scholars in the field of the law of the sea, international relations and international law.
The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Introduction by Tomasz Kamiski and Karol Karski
PART I: General Remarks
1. Anniversary of the UNCLOS or an Epitaph for Codification Conferences
2. International Law of the Sea in the Achievements of Professor Wojciech
Góralczyk: Polish Delegate to the First and the Third UN Conferences on the
Law of the Sea and to the Preparatory Commission for the International Seabed
Authority and for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
PART II: Maritime Areas and their Delimitation
3. The Methodology of Maritime Delimitation Achievements and Prospects
4. The Status of Straight Baselines and the so-called Creeping Jurisdiction
of Coastal States. Some Remarks on the Means of Addressing Unjustified
Maritime Claims
5. The Antarctic Treaty - The Pearl in the Crown of the Law of
Extraterritorial Space
6. Insula in Mari Nata A Problem of Ius Gentium That is Not Only
Theoretical
7. The Law of the Seabed 40 years after UNCLOS
8. The Process of Developing Maritime Spatial Plans of The Republic of Poland
in the Context of Water Areas Under the UNCLOS Convention
PART III: UNCLOS in the Jurisprudence of International and Domestic Bodies
and Courts
9. Through the Lens of General International Rules. How did Judge Manfred
Lachs Contribute to Developing the Law of the Sea?
10. The Role of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
11. Dispute Settlement Measures Guaranteed by the Convention on the Law of
the Sea in the Practice of the Proceedings of the Russian Federation
12. Reception of ICJ Jurisprudence by Domestic Courts in the Field of
International Law of The Sea
13. Article 235 of LOSC and the International Liability Regime for Oil
Pollution Damage: Cracks in the System as Shown by Recent Case Law
PART IV: Protection of the Marine Environment
14. Environmental Law of the Sea and Part XII of the UN Convention on the Law
of the Sea
15. Marine Mammals, the UNCLOS and the International Convention on the
Regulation of Whaling: Too Little and too Unstructured, A Case study of
Whaling
16. The Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine
Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: A Treaty
Implementing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea?
17. The Vistula Spit Canal in the Light of the Rights of Nature Concept and
the Principle of Good Neighbourliness
18. Environmental Impact Assessment as a Mandatory Element of the Submarine
Pipelines Laying Process, as Seen by the Baltic Sea Countries - Overview and
Perspectives
PART V: Maritime Security
19. International Legal Aspects of Combating Maritime Terrorism. Notes de
lege lata and de lege ferenda
20. Counteracting Maritime Incidents of a Hybrid Nature in the Light of the
UNCLOS Convention
21. Can Turkey Legally Close the Passage through Turkish Straits for Russian
Warships due to Russian Military Aggression Against Ukraine?
22. Independent-Dependent States - Land-Locked States Right of Access to and
from the Sea
23. Maritime Disputes that Poland is Involved in
PART VI: Maritime Safety
24. (R)evolution of Maritime Safety in IMO Conventions and UNCLOS
25. Some Legal Aspects of Satellite Navigation and Maritime Safety
26. Defending the Fleet: Cybersecurity and Autonomous Ships
27. Port Community System (PCS) as a Digital Platform for Autonomous Ships -
A Polish Perspective
28. ACCESS DENIED The COVID-19 Pandemic and Discretion of Port States to
Decide on Access to a Port in the Light of the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea: Legal and Economic Consequences
Tomasz Kamiski (University of Warsaw) PhD, Dr. Hab. Iur. Associated Professor at Department of Public International Law, Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Warsaw and at Faculty of Security, Logistics and Management, Military University of Technology. Author of numerous publications in the field of international law, considering, inter alia: law of the sea, diplomatic law and law of treaties. Member of ILA Committee on Submarine Cables and Pipelines under International Law. Member of the Polish Academy of Science Committee on Maritime Law and of the Legal Advisory Committee to MOFA of the Republic of Poland.
Karol Karski (University of Warsaw) PhD, Dr. Hab. Iur., Full Professor of Law. Head of the Department of Public International Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw. Member of the Committee on Legal Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Representative of Poland during the 1st, 2nd and 3rd part of the 4th session of the ISA (Kingston and New York, 1998). Author of over 160 publications in the field of international law, including the international law of the sea. Former Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.
