The historic American concept of freedom of the seas refers to the normative value, international law doctrine, and economic and military strategy of the United States that the oceans should be open for navigation and commerce to all nations. No single state should control or restrict the movement of ships on the high seas, in peacetime or against neutral rights in time of war. This idea has been a cornerstone of US foreign and maritime policy since the country’s founding, evolving in response to challenges over the centuries.

This is the first of five chapters to distinguish between these four different levels, or sets, of political security dynamics in the Arctic. We start with the regional level, as it sets much of the frame for the other two, namely the systemic and the national. A look at the regional Arctic level, or the dynamics amongst the eight Arctic countries in the Arctic, is inherently what much of Arctic studies are concerned with. Thus, the goal of this chapter is to describe the specific regional political dynamics in the Arctic that relate to security and international relations.

This chapter introduces the book and its main themes and concepts. It starts with Arctic-specific examples including the maritime agreement between Norway and Russia, and the US interest in taking control over Greenland, to highlight how the notions of geography, security, and geopolitics are at the forefront of contemporary international relations. It then goes on to discuss the concepts of geopolitics, regions, and security regions that in turn frame the approach taken in this book to understand some fundamental questions about states, security, and geography.

This chapter examines the collective interpretative practices of non-judicial actors, with a special focus on the One Ocean Hub. The One Ocean Hub is an inter- and transdisciplinary ocean research network that engages academic and non-academic stakeholders, including local decision-makers and representatives from international organizations, civil society, and affected communities, to co-develop mutually supportive interpretations of international environmental law, the law of the sea, and international human rights law. The interpretative practice of the One Ocean Hub related to the protection of human rights that are dependent on a healthy ocean is an example of collective interpretation whose authority comes from the expertise of the involved practitioners. The chapter examines how this expertise-based interpretation can be institutionalized under the law of treaties, with a view to embedding it in the work of relevant treaty bodies.

The process of treaty interpretation focuses on the reading of texts and so provides limited scope to understand fully how instruments like the 1972 Stockholm Declaration can inform the content of specific legal obligations. However, this is not the whole picture. A review of the genealogy of key law-of-the-sea instruments reveals the varying influence of Stockholm on the contemporary law of the sea. Beyond its more obvious influence on the protection of the marine environment, subtle yet important sematic and cultural influences can be detected in areas such as the human/environment nexus, differential commitments, stewardship, and integrated planning. As the integration of the law of the sea with other fields of law deepens, it is harder to ignore these influences. Understanding these influences gives us an important sense of trajectory in the development of legal norms and the longer-term value of including progressive ideas within legal instruments.

This chapter concerns the law of the sea, tracing its historical development. The various parts of the seas are discussed, commencing with internal waters and the territorial sea and proceeding through the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. The extent of these zones and the identification of the relevant baselines are analysed, together with the notions of bays and islands, archipelagic states and the juridical nature of the respective zones. The rights of innocent passage and transit passage are discussed, followed by an examination of international straits. The important question of maritime delimitation of the various zones as between adjacent or opposite states is then examined, and the relevant principles as revealed in case law are analysed, including the situation as to delimitation beyond the 200-mile zones. The chapter then deals with the legal regime over the high seas, with jurisdictional issues being noted with the principle of flag state exclusivity and the exceptions thereto. The legal position as to the international seabed is then discussed with the International Seabed Authority and its organs are noted. The chapter concludes with an examination of dispute settlement mechanisms, especially the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Chapter 4 considers how duties of international cooperation safeguard sovereign equality by reconciling the territorial sovereignty of coastal states with landlocked states’ rights to access the oceans through negotiation or binding arbitration.

Chapter 3 shows how the international law of the sea moved away from state unilateralism in favor of the equitable model of sovereignty by requiring states to resolve disputes over international fisheries and maritime boundaries through cooperation in accordance with equitable principles.

This chapter sets out the rationale for and provides an overview of the content of Submarines in International Law. It discusses a definition of submarines and describes a legal taxonomy of submarines; explaining how submarines may be categorized in a way that is legally relevant by considering the owner/operator, the purpose, their mode of power, and weaponry aboard. A critical consideration in addressing the international laws regulating submarine operations is the sovereign immunity that may apply and legal consequences of that immunity. Whether a submarine is nuclear powered or nuclear armed may also hold legal relevance. It is also important to acknowledge the growing private use of submarines for diverse reasons: criminal activity, research and for leisure. These uses are also regulated under international law and the chapter explains the different bodies of international law that are canvased in the book.

The use of submarines in World War II and the development of submarine technology into the Cold War had implications for different fields of international law. This chapter addresses the peace negotiations and agreements that were adopted after World War II, which concerned the decommissioning (to varying degrees) of submarines and efforts to revise the Montreux Treaty. International law developments were sometimes slow, as evident in responses to violations of the law of naval warfare. Equally, the chapter highlights the rise of nuclear technology in relation to submarines and the modest advances in international agreements on nuclear tests. Despite the growing strategic importance of submarines in the Cold War, their explicit regulation in the 1958 conference and treaties on the law of the sea was scant. Instead, international laws relating to the passage of warships and military activities on the high seas generally impacted international laws regulating submarine operations.

The international law of the sea treaties imposes various obligations on contracting states, which can be managed more efficiently and cost-effectively through blockchain technology. As a disruptive tool, blockchain allows stakeholders to track transactions in a secure, cryptographically verified public database. It ensures a secure and reliable record of activities and information exchange governed by international agreements. This paper explores how the blockchain-based systems could help protect the maritime community and support sustainable ocean governance under the law of the sea. Particular attention is given to conserving marine living resources, protecting the marine environment and preserving marine biodiversity. Blockchain is already in use for some internationally regulated activities, such as electronic data interchange, though electronic permitting still waits broader international approval. Besides the clear advantages of blockchain, its legal, regulatory and other concerns must be addressed when considering its role in implementing international treaties. The author aims to explore whether harnessing blockchain`s potential requires new international agreement or if a simpler soft law instrument could provide sufficient guidance and safeguards for the international community.

Iceland and the United Kingdom experienced a series of crises that follow a similar pattern. Iceland extended its maritime limits – to preserve more fish for Icelandic vessels and conserve fish stocks. Britain resisted the extension. Both sides escalated their behavior (e.g., issuing threats and coercively harassing each another’s vessels), and Britain ultimately conceded. This chapter covers the 1971–1973 Cod War. It follows the above pattern, but with a somewhat unique twist. In the 1971–1973 episode, domestic politics within both democratic states encourage escalation. Iceland, moreover, threatens to leave the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and to evict United States (US) forces from the Keflavik air base. Because of these threats, as well as escalating coercion, NATO mediates, and NATO and the US pressure Britain to concede. Ultimately, this crisis does not escalate to a major-state war because the disputed issue (i.e., maritime limits) lacks sufficient salience and past, similar episodes demonstrate that a nonwar solution exists.

The international law of the sea has developed over many hundreds of years. Modern principles can be traced back to the 17th-century debates between scholars such as Grotius and Selden over whether or not nations had the right to control areas of the ocean. At that time, nations were primarily concerned over access to fishing grounds and trading routes; today the international law of the sea has importance for a large range of diverse maritime interests relating to security, international trade, communications, scientific research, seabed minerals, human rights, climate change, fishing, biodiversity conservation and more. The law of the sea is today dominated by the monumental 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC). Much of the content of the LOSC represents customary international law and the legal regime for the oceans continues to evolve in response to emerging issues.