High Seas Governance

Reviews / Votes

"The editors observe that UNCLOS "is intended to regulate all uses of the sea" (id.). The way it does so is illustrated by the chapters that follow. One finds citations to substantive provisions of UNCLOS (including its implementation agreements), decisions and advisory opinions rendered under its dispute settlement provisions, and actions of the International Seabed Authority established by UNCLOS. There are also citations to the rich corpus of treaties, regulations, and guidelines promulgated by or under the auspices of competent international and regional organizations established by other instruments to which UNCLOS entrusts much of its detailed implementation; some of those measures are in turn incorporated by reference into UNCLOS."

"There is not only a multiplicity of functional regimes in the law of the sea but a multiplicity of international and regional organizations with responsibilities for different types of activities. Such functional allocation of responsibilities is hardly unique to international institutions. But it can pose challenges in implementing environmental objectives directed to particular outcomes...More than one chapter of the book helpfully explores how coordinated responses have emerged and can be encouraged."

"What then are the "gaps"? Do they relate to the legal regime established in UNCLOS regarding the high seas or to the governance of the high seas with respect to the preservation and protection of the marine environment? What should we do about them? With what priority? The authors of the essays in this book know their topics well. For them, these are not simple questions. These questions may not even be the most pressing ones." - in: American Journal of International Law Vol. 114, no. 4 (October 2020)