Arthur D. Martinez
Abstract: This article provides a succinct overview of the law of the sea, which dates back roughly 300 years. As the great maritime states were built up, each claimed sovereignty over certain seas important to its trade; conflicts inevitably ensued. In the 16th century, the British defeated the Spanish Armada and promoted the establishment of the freedom of the high seas, only for a British king to later reverse this principle. The Dutch had economic interests in conflict with the English jurisdictional claim, so Hugo Grotius published his treatise on Mare Liberum (1609), “the free sea,” claiming that the high seas are open and common to all people. For nearly a century, Grotius appeared to be in the minority; but by the eighteenth century new writers came to his support. By 1700, the freedom of the seas principle had clearly predominated. The first serious international attempt to codify the law of the sea was in 1930. Despite a series of conventions, there are areas of the customary law of the sea which are still in dispute. It has not been possible, for instance, to codify the exact breadth of the territorial sea. The maritime powers, led by the United States, have sought to stem the movement toward an enlargement of territorial sea. This conflicts with lesser-developed nations, which have become more conscious of the fact that adjacent to their land masses lie valuable economic resources such as fish petroleum, and minerals. This author predicts continued respect and support by a large majority of the conference participants for the freedom of the seas doctrine.
Keywords: international law, UNCLOS, sea, ocean, maritime, united nations, league of nations
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