Book contents
- Submarines in International Law
- Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law: 197
- Submarines in International Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Table of Cases
- Table of Treaties
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introducing Submarines in International Law
- Part I A Legal History of Submarines
- 2 The Rise of the Submarine: Belligerency, Neutrality and Emerging Laws of Passage in World War I
- 3 Regulating Submarines in the Inter-war Period from Versailles (1919) to The Hague (1930)
- 4 The Impact of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II
- 5 The Post-war Settlement, the Early Cold War and the 1958 Law of the Sea Conventions
- 6 To UNCLOS and Beyond: Strategic Domination in Submarine Regulation
- Part II Contemporary International Law of Submarines
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law
6 - To UNCLOS and Beyond: Strategic Domination in Submarine Regulation
from Part I - A Legal History of Submarines
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 April 2026
Book contents
- Submarines in International Law
- Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law: 197
- Submarines in International Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Table of Cases
- Table of Treaties
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introducing Submarines in International Law
- Part I A Legal History of Submarines
- 2 The Rise of the Submarine: Belligerency, Neutrality and Emerging Laws of Passage in World War I
- 3 Regulating Submarines in the Inter-war Period from Versailles (1919) to The Hague (1930)
- 4 The Impact of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II
- 5 The Post-war Settlement, the Early Cold War and the 1958 Law of the Sea Conventions
- 6 To UNCLOS and Beyond: Strategic Domination in Submarine Regulation
- Part II Contemporary International Law of Submarines
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law
Summary
This chapter focuses on the different ways that strategic uses of submarines have influenced developments in international law. It highlights the security dimensions in discussions at the failed Second Law of the Sea Conference in 1960. Superpower dynamics during the Cold War also influenced decisions leading to the negotiations for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as well as the negotiations themselves. The growing importance of nuclear-powered submarines, as well as nuclear weapons on conventionally-powered submarines, spurred international agreements on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. This chapter brings to the fore the strategic importance of military submarines for major maritime powers in recent decades as it provides critical context for contemporary development and application of international law. We conclude Part I of the book in this chapter in bringing together key themes in the legal history of submarines that continue to influence the modern international law of submarines.
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- Submarines in International Law , pp. 195 - 222Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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