Law of the Sea Commons^™

Chapter 1: Sanctions And The Shadow Fleet: Terrorism Forfeiture And Operation Economic Fury, James Kraska

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

International Law Situations: Belligerent Straits, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

This Situation examines the measures that belligerents may take to regulate navigation by neutral and belligerent shipping through international straits. Iran has imposed several illegal measures on neutral shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to manage transits through the strait, to include the imposition of tolls, establishment of a prior permission regime, and closure of the strait. This Situation analyzes Iran's actions under international law.

Ai And Naval Operations, Wolff Heintschel Von Heinegg

International Law Studies

Artificial intelligence systems in naval operations are reality. They enhance naval capabilities in various respects. Autonomous surface and underwater vehicles depend on such systems. Moreover, these systems contribute to threat detection and identification, to real-time strategy optimization, and to intelligence analysis. The present article provides a brief analysis of the legality of AI systems used by naval forces under the law of naval warfare, which, in many respects, differs considerably from the law of land warfare. Accordingly, it is necessary to distinguish between attacks from the sea against targets on land and attacks against targets at sea and in the …

Artificial Intelligence And Autonomous Systems In Warfighting At Sea, Nicholas Kadlec

International Law Studies

Much of the debate surrounding the military use of artificial intelligence (AI) tends to focus on lethal autonomous weapons systems. Those are systems that, once activated, can select and engage targets without further human intervention; sometimes pejoratively called “killer robots.” Moreover, debates often focus on their use and risks in land warfare. This land-warfare focus tends to invoke questions about the systems’ ability to distinguish between combatants and civilians on urban battlefields and the potential for mistakes. Legal debates about the lawfulness of AI and lethal autonomous weapons systems in warfare similarly tend to focus on land warfare and thus …

The Obligation Of “Due Regard” In The Eez During Armed Conflict At Sea, James Kraska

International Law Studies

This article explores the rights of belligerent warships and military aircraft to engage in hostile operations within a neutral coastal State’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) during armed conflict. It argues that peacetime rules of due regard for coastal State sovereign rights and jurisdiction do not constrain these operations. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) established the peacetime obligation of due regard in the EEZ. By 1984, the EEZ had become customary international law binding on all States. The San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflict at Sea suggests belligerent naval forces owe …

Safeguarding Submarine Cables And Pipelines In Times Of Peace And War, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

Incidents involving damage to undersea infrastructure illustrate the vulnerability of submarine cables and pipelines. While damage can occur accidentally in peacetime, recent incidents suggest cables and pipelines are being systematically targeted and that the resulting damage is not accidental or the result of poor seamanship. Most undersea infrastructure can also be attacked as a military objective in wartime. Peacetime adversaries or opposing belligerents during an armed conflict can easily damage undersea infrastructure to further their political, strategic, or wartime objectives. These incidents also highlight the inadequacy of coastal State authority under international law to take measures against foreign-flagged vessels intentionally …

Maritime Incidents In The South China Sea: Measures Of Law Enforcement Or Use Of Force?, Aurel Sari

International Law Studies

China has sought to extend its control over the South China Sea at the expense of neighboring countries. In pursuing its goals, Beijing adopts a “power and law” approach, claiming extensive territorial and maritime rights in contravention of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and asserting these rights through coercive action in disputed waters. A key element of China’s strategy involves the use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in an effort to portray its operations as measures of law enforcement, rather than displays of coercive power.

This article argues that the Chinese narrative of law …

Unclos And The Law Of Occupation: On The Rights And Duties Of Occupying States In Maritime Areas, Louis Mcdonough Monroy

International Law Studies

As of today, the framework of ocean governance of coastal maritime areas created by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is well understood and accepted by the international community. However, there are large and important areas of ocean space around the world that are subject to a more nuanced framework of interrelated norms. These are maritime areas that have come under the effective control of occupying States, often through the use of force. As such, the legal framework applicable to these maritime areas is that of the law of occupation. Nevertheless, because of the specificities …

Annotated Supplement To The Commander's Handbook On The Law Of Naval Operations

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 2: International Status And Navigation Of Military Vessels And Military Aircraft

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 1: Legal Divisions Of The Oceans And Airspace

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 3: Protection Of Persons And Property At Sea And Maritime Law Enforcement

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 4: Safeguarding U.S. National Interests In The Maritime Environment

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 9: Conventional Weapons And Weapons Systems

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 5: Principles And Sources Of The Law Of Armed Conflict

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 8: The Law Of Targeting

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 6: Adherence And Enforcement

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 7: The Law Of Neutrality

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 12: Deception During Armed Conflict

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 10: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, And Nuclear Weapons

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Chapter 11: Treatment Of Detained Persons

International Law Studies

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations is used in the United States and throughout the world as a restatement of U.S. doctrinal law positions on matters affecting the operations of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Judge advocates and legal advisers have occasion to conduct deeper research to identify the context and source of the rules reflected in the Commander’s Handbook. Responding to this need, an Annotated Supplement to The Commander’s Handbook was produced in 1997 and published as volume 73 of International Law Studies. In the intervening decades, …

Maritime Exclusion Zones In Armed Conflicts, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

This article originally appeared in Articles of War, the online publication of the Lieber Institute at the U.S. Military Academy, Apr. 12, 2022, https://lieber.westpoint.edu/maritime-exclusion-zones-armed-conflicts/.

Submarine Cable Security And International Law, Douglas R. Burnett

International Law Studies

In this article the revolution in fiber optic submarine cable communications is placed in context with the world’s growing dependence upon critical submarine cable infrastructure. Emphasis is placed on the development of international law designed to protect submarine cables and in particular those articles in the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention that foster and safeguard the freedom to lay and repair submarine cables. Special focus is applied to the status of international submarine telecommunication cables in cases of intentional actions that damage or destroy them and the State practice and customary international law that generally classifies submarine cables …

Booty, Bounty, Blockade, And Prize: Time To Reevaluate The Law, Andrew Clapham

International Law Studies

This article considers the so-called belligerent rights of States in times of war. In particular it focuses on booty of war, blockade, and the capture of merchant ships and their cargo. It is suggested that, while the rules may not often be applied today, they nevertheless continue to exert a certain influence, contributing to confusion about the boundaries of the legitimate use of force and a blurring of the distinction between military objectives and civilian objects.

Considering that the UN Charter has outlawed the use of force, the article also questions why such rules concerning capture should continue to have …

China’S Container Missile Deployments Could Violate The Law Of Naval Warfare, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

China is reportedly developing long-range cruise missiles that can be fired from standard shipping containers loaded on merchant vessels. China is also converting heavy-lift civilian ships and roll-on roll-off (RORO) ferries to serve as de facto amphibious assault ships to support People’s Liberation Army (PLA) amphibious operations. While none of these activities are illegal per se, they do raise potential concerns under the law of naval warfare. Only warships can engage in offensive belligerent rights during an international armed conflict. Using merchant vessels to engage in belligerent rights would violate international law unless China first converts the vessels into warships …

Encirclement, Deprivation, And Humanity: Revising The San Remo Manual Provisions On Blockade, Tom Dannenbaum

International Law Studies

Among the most pernicious trends in contemporary armed conflict is the return of mass starvation in war, in some cases as its primary source of human suffering. This has prompted a renewed focus on the relevant rules of international humanitarian law (IHL). On some issues, there is relative consensus. On the issue of deprivation by encirclement, however, there is confusion.

Some have questioned whether the prohibition on the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare applies to encirclements at all, particularly in the naval context. Others have interpreted the prohibition vanishingly narrowly. In contrast to the more extreme of …

Sailor-Scholar: Remembering Rear Admiral Horace B. Robertson Jr., Jagc, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

International Law Studies

This volume is dedicated to the memory of

Rear Admiral Horace B. Robertson Jr.,

JAGC, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

November 13, 1923 – November 19, 2020

The Legal Characterization Of Lethal Autonomous Maritime Systems: Warship, Torpedo, Or Naval Mine?, Hitoshi Nasu, David Letts

International Law Studies

With the rapid advances in autonomous navigation and artificial intelligence technology, naval industries are edging closer to the development of unmanned maritime platforms with lethal autonomous capability—lethal autonomous maritime systems (LAMS). The emergence of LAMS as a sui generis hybrid weapon system will almost certainly generate disagreement on their legal status. Currently, there is no agreement among States as to whether LAMS should legally be characterized as warships or other means of warfare, such as torpedoes and naval mines. This lack of certainty represents a significant deficiency with potential strategic and operational implications if left unresolved. To assist States in …

The Occupation Of Maritime Territory Under International Humanitarian Law, Marco Longobardo

International Law Studies

This article explores whether it is possible to apply the law of occupation beyond land territory, to maritime areas characterized here as “maritime territory.” The article argues that the definition of territory under Article 42 of the 1907 Hague Regulations comprises internal waters, territorial sea, and archipelagic waters, whereas other areas such as the continental shelf, the exclusive economic zone, and high seas fall outside the scope of Article 42. Accordingly, internal waters, the territorial sea, and archipelagic waters may be placed under occupation if a hostile force exercises actual authority over them without valid legal title. The article describes …

The Updated Icrc Commentary On The Second Geneva Convention: Demystifying The Law Of Armed Conflict At Sea, Bruno Demeyere, Jean-Marie Henckaerts, Heleen Hiemstra, Ellen Nohle

International Law Studies

Since their publication in the 1950s and 1980s respectively, the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 have become a major reference for the application and interpretation of those treaties. The International Committee of the Red Cross, together with a team of renowned experts, is currently updating these Commentaries in order to document developments and provide up-to-date interpretations of the treaty texts. Following a brief overview of the methodology and process of the update as well as a historical background to the Second Geneva Convention, this article addresses the scope of applicability of the …