UNCLOS

Year signed1982
TypeLaw of the Sea
RegionGlobal
Parties169 parties

About the UNCLOS

The constitution of the oceans, 12 mile territorial seas, 200 mile exclusive economic zones, continental shelf rights, archipelago states, transit passages, deep seabed as common heritage under ISA. The US never ratified, Senate objections to seabed mining provisions, yet follows it as custom. South China Sea arbitration, Philippines v China 2016, applied UNCLOS, China rejected. Mining code debates, ocean warming, and Arctic shipping test it.

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