CYIL vol. 15 (2024)

CYIL 15 ȍ2024Ȏ THIRTY YEARS SINCE THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE UN CONVENTION … Its importance is given by the importance of the sea, especially from an economic point of view. It is essential for the economy of many coastal states to use the living resources of the sea, e.g., fishing. The significance of extracting mineral resources from the seabed continues to grow, both from the continental shelf and, in the future, from the seabed beyond the borders of national jurisdiction. The importance of the sea in terms of international maritime transport, but also air transport, is undeniable. The Convention is also essential from the point of view of the protection of the marine environment, it can be considered one of the strongest comprehensive environmental treaties in force today. 2 In addition to the practical significance of the sea for states and their members, the examination of the norms governing the law of the sea is also interesting from the point of view of science. International judicial and arbitral organs are also increasingly involved in the interpretation and application of the norms of the law of the sea. Maritime law is one of the oldest branches of international law. Norms of the law of the sea were originally contained in the form of international customs. The first codification of the law of the sea took place at the Geneva Conference in 1958. At this conference, four conventions were adopted, the Convention on Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, the Convention on the Continental Shelf, the Convention on the High Seas and the Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas. These conventions to a large extent expressed the international law in force at that time, and also partly developed it. At the Geneva Conference in 1958, however, it was not possible to agree on the maximum width of the territorial sea, the outer limit of the continental shelf was not clearly determined, the issues concerning archipelagic states were not resolved, the use of the seabed under the high seas was not regulated, etc. In 1960, the Second United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea was held, which was convened to define the width of the territorial sea and to resolve the issues concerning the fishing rights. The agreement between states in regard to the maximum width of the territorial sea was not reached at this conference either. During the 1960s, however, the development of technology by technologically advanced countries brought closer the possibility of using the seabed under the high seas, and the conditions for the possible extraction of resources from the seabed beyond the borders of national jurisdiction were created. In this situation, the regulations contained in the Convention on the High Seas from 1958 was insufficient, because it did not mention the seabed of the high seas, and therefore did not take into account the possibility of using and extracting resources from the ocean floor. The possibility of using the seabed leads to the danger that the seabed will become the subject of national appropriation and use by developed countries. This could lead to the militarization of the seabed beyond the jurisdiction of states, and the exploitation of seabed resources would be limited to only a small part of technologically advanced states. Malta responded to this situation in its memorandum 3 of 1967, which was related to the seabed of the high seas beyond the jurisdiction of states. The memorandum declared 2 BECKMAN, R., DAVENPORT, T. The EEZ Regime: Reflections after 30 Years . LOSI Conference Papers 2012 “Securing the Ocean for the Next Generation”, p. 18. In: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Beckman Davenport-final.pdf (accessed on 10. 4. 2024). 3 Note Verbale of 19 August 1967 from Malta to UN Secretary-General (A/6695,18 August 1967).

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