Open sea ( international waters ) - sea space located outside the outer limits of the territorial sea [1] [2] , which is not subject to the sovereignty of any state or states, and is in the general and equal use of all peoples. Both attributes are important for defining the open sea:
- it is not subject to the sovereignty of any state;
- it is located outside the territorial sea.
Thus, the adjacent zone and the exclusive economic zone are areas of the open sea with a specific legal regime [3] .
Content
Use of open sea waters
The use of the waters of the high seas is based on the imperative principle of freedom of the high seas, universally recognized in international law, which states that no state has the right to extend its sovereignty to any part of the high seas and airspace above it or prevent other states from enjoying the freedoms of the high seas. This principle is enshrined and specified by the 1958 Convention on the High Seas and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Freedom of the High Seas
The freedoms of the high seas are not absolute and are subject to the conditions laid down in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Art. 87 and 89).
Freedom of the high seas include:
- freedom of navigation ;
- freedom of flight;
- freedom to lay submarine cables and pipelines ;
- the freedom to build artificial islands and other installations permitted under international law;
- freedom of fishing and fishing ;
- freedom of scientific research, etc.
Freedom of Shipping
Freedom of navigation means that ships under the flags of both coastal states and landlocked states have the right to sail on the high seas.
On the high seas, warships enjoy complete immunity from the jurisdiction of any state other than the flag state. The immunity of a warship does not mean giving him unlimited rights. Thus, in the exclusive economic zone of a state, warships of other states are prohibited to conduct combat shooting, depth bombing, etc., without the permission of the authorities of the coastal state.
Notes
- ↑ Open Sea // Military Encyclopedia / P. S. Grachev . - M .: Military Publishing House , 2002. - T. 6. - P. 187. - ISBN 5-203-01873-1 .
- ↑ Open Sea // Military Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M .: Military publishing house of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR , 1986. - p. 527. - 863 p. - 150 000 copies
- ↑ A. A. Kovalev. Modern international law of the sea and the practice of its application. - M .: “Scientific book”, 2003. - 146 p.
See also
- Neutral zone
- Open air space
- UN Convention on the Law of the Sea