Maritime Attorney

History of International Maritime Law

Since the 17th century, the water of the world had been subject to the freedom-of-the-seas doctrine. This doctrine was not an official international agreement on paper so much as basic outlines of rules. It was a doctrine that stated that countries were entitled to a tiny little strip of land around their country but, beyond that, water was subject to no one's rule and belonged to no one. This doctrine was held until the middle of the 20th century when countries like the United States wanted to grab parts of the continental shelf in order to explore and control natural resource beds in the area. There were also growing concerns about the damage to local fishing areas done by long-range fishing fleets as well as concern over waste disposal.

This doctrine pretty much expired when President Harry S. Truman unilaterally (meaning without international help or agreement) claimed the continental shelf surrounding the United States. After he opened the gates, other countries were quick to follow his lead and claimed other extended portions of continental shelf.

It is with this climate that the United Nations called the Third Convention of the Law of the Sea. This convention dealt with and tried to settle issues dealing with navigational rights, territorial limits, economic jurisdiction, legal status of resources on the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, passage of ships through narrow straits, conservation and management of living marine resources, protection of the marine environment, a marine research regime and a binding procedure for settlement of disputes between States. For more information on this or any other international maritime law related topic, contact a maritime lawyer at Williams Kherkher today.