This article examines when states are allowed to use force against neutral merchant ships outside territorial waters. This is regulated by both international humanitarian law and the prohibition of the use of force, which apply concurrently to naval warfare. The prohibition of the use of force imposes narrower limits than international humanitarian law, in the sense that certain actions that have ...

On 31 October 2021, an agreement was signed between Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu that established a commission with the power to request an advisory opinion from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Since ITLOS’s advisory jurisdiction has been tested in only one case, I explain and evaluate the procedural obstacles facing this commission, as well as the potential questions ...

The contemporary law of the sea is not only a making of its own time but also a result of evolutions from the past. Indeed, the LOSC reflects a particular historical trajectory from Grotius’s Mare Liberum to UNCLOS III and the historical circumstances under which it developed. Using TWAIL as a theoretical and methodological lens, this article critically analyzes the historical development of the law ...

Fisheries management has been a strongly contested aspect of the UK’s position in the EU since UK accession, with the fishing industry frequently questioning both the efficacy and fairness of arrangements. During the campaign for UK exit (Brexit) from the EU, and the subsequent negotiations of a new legal and political relationship from 2016 to 2020, senior UK political leaders strongly committed ...

The ship recycling industry has grown over the years, and it has become a major source of revenue for some developing states. Grave occupational and environmental problems have been associated with the industry during its growth in such countries. Due to growing occupational and environmental concerns, the International Maritime Organization adopted the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and ...

As the oceans are heavily impacted by climate change, effective regulatory responses are needed to mitigate, as well as to adapt to, these adverse effects. Problematically, however, neither the international climate change regime nor the international law of the sea specifically addresses the adverse effects of climate change on the oceans. This article analyses the interactions between these regimes, ...

The paper is intended to show how the idea of the “blue economy” is conceptualized in the three main Arctic coastal regions: Northern Norway, the Russian Arctic Zone and Alaska (USA). This is done through the example of how fisheries and aquaculture function in these three regions and through an analysis of their official policies. The paper examines the current organization of blue economy management, ...

Το εάν η Ελλάδα επηρεάζεται από τις αλλαγές που συμβαίνουν στην Αρκτική παραμένει πέρα από κάθε αμφισβήτηση. Το ερώτημα έγκειται στο εάν η Ελλάδα θα πρέπει σταδιακά να αυξήσει την εμπλοκή της στις υποθέσεις της Αρκτικής και τελικά να αναπτύξει μια σχετική στρατηγική πολιτική για την περιοχή. Η επί του παρόντος Σύνοψη Πολιτικής στοχεύει στη διατύπωση της υπάρχουσας σχέσης της Ελλάδας με την Αρκτική ...

This article examines China’s Polar Silk Road (PSR) and its legal implications for the future governance of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). It first discusses China’s economic and geopolitical interests in the so-called Polar Silk Road. The article then focuses on comparing Russian regulation of the NSR and Chinese regulation of foreign vessels as a coastal state. Both China and Russia are contracting ...

Norway has stood on the doorsteps of the European Union (then the European Communities (EC)) for more than four decades. In 1960, Norway became one of the seven original members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), a trade-blocalternative to the European Economic Community (EEC). The Norwegian people voted against EC-membership in 1972 and 1994. In the late 1980's, a plan to create a single ...