LAW599

Oceans Law & Policy

(Jefferies)

Prerequisite courses: N/A although having previously taken Public International Law will be an asset

Prerequisite for: N/A

Instructor: Professor Cameron Jefferies

Course credit: 3

Method of presentation: Seminar

METHOD OF EVALUATION

75% Modified open-book examination (each student is entitled to bring their Law of the Sea Convention and 1 page of notes, double-sided)

25% mid-term case comment assignment 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The world’s oceans cover more than 70% of the planet and are essential for moving goods and information, military security, life-sustaining biological processes, recreation, and scientific research. Canada borders three oceans and has the longest coastline of any State. Unsurprisingly, Canada has a vested interest in the ordered development and sustainable utilization of the oceans.

The Law of the Sea (LOS) includes the body of laws (both customary and treaty-based) that govern our many uses of the ocean. The LOS strives for peaceful dispute resolution and operates to balance competing uses of the ocean whilst simultaneously protecting it against over-exploitation. Chief among these legal instruments is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (‘UNCLOS’), which was negotiated by more than 160 States during the third international conference on the law of the sea between 1972-1982. UNCLOS opened for signature in 1982 and entered into force in 1994. Canada signed UNCLOS in 1982 but did not ratify it until 2003.

UNCLOS is appropriately described as a ‘Constitution for the Oceans’ since it comprehensively articulates legal regimes and corresponding rights and responsibilities for States Parties. Presently, 35 years removed from its conclusion, the world is confronted by a new set of challenges that test UNCLOS’ ability to maintain legal order in the oceans. 

This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of the law of the sea, with particular attention being paid to past and present issues that are important to Canada. We will survey the historical underpinnings of UNCLOS, the approach to its negotiation, its core obligations and achievements, and modern issues in its implementation. We will also explore key cases and decisions that have been made under UNCLOS, and Canada’s domestic implementation of the treaty.

Where appropriate, this course will also explore contemporary issues in the LOS, such as: piracy; maritime boundary delimitation; extended continental shelf claims; polar governance; marine protected areas; the conservation of living marine resources; shipping; sub-marine cables; etc. 

SPECIAL COMMENTS

Description updated 2019-20. Please contact the instructor for any specific questions you may have related to this particular course section.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Yoshifumi Tanaka, The International Law of the Sea, 2nd ed. (2015, Cambridge University Press)

Cameron Jefferies, Marine Mammal Conservation and the Law of the Sea (2016, Oxford University Press)

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (treaty text)