Change in the Law of the Sea. Context, Mechanisms and Practice

Abstract

The adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982 was a milestone in the development of the law of the sea, and in international law-making in general. As the ‘constitution for the oceans’, the Convention has been praised as a monumental achievement, as much as it continues to be the subject of contemporary debates. Many present-day exigencies are dramatically different in nature and scope than those on the table of the drafters back in the seventies. The oceans are under stress from cumulative pressures of an unprecedented nature and scale: ranging from the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification, to the widespread loss of biodiversity, pollution and ecosystem degradation. These changing circumstances and interests pose challenges for the law of the sea and ocean governance to respond, adapt, and mediate demand for normative change. This thesis builds on the premise that the conclusion of a treaty is only the beginning of an ongoing ‘law-building process’, and that the formal shape of an instrument does not guarantee either its continued ‘stability’ or its susceptibility to change. It centres around the research question how - that is, through which mechanisms already present in international law - UNCLOS can respond to demand for change arising from its contemporary context. The approach adopted in this study to analyse ‘change’ in the law of the sea builds on three inseparable pillars: the context from which demand for change emerges, the mechanisms for change available within the international legal system, and how these mediate change in practice.