Page 216 - Economia Azul - versão: inglês

transformation in the relationship of States in its agendas. Then, in 1956, a text by the
with maritime spaces and the exploitation UN International Law Commission - ILC -
of natural resources, living and non-living. was approved, calling for a Conference
(SLOUKA, 1968). The proclamation iden- on the Law of the Sea scheduled for 1958
tifies and originates two areas that did not (O’CORNNELL, 1982, p. 22).
exist until then: the Continental Shelf and The First Conference on the Law of the
the Fishing Zone (currently called the Exclu- Sea took place in Geneva in 1958 and result-
sive Economic Zone). The argument for the ed in four conventions dealing with the Terri-
creation of the continental shelf was based torial Sea and the Contiguous Zone; the High
on the scientific recognition of the fact that Seas; the Continental Shelf; and the Conven-
the North American mainland does not end tion on Fisheries and the Conservation of Bio-
at the maritime boundary but extends into logical Resources on the High Seas.
the sea in a natural extension of the coast. In relation to the Convention on Fishing
Thus, the US claimed that the soil and sub- and Conservation of Biological Resources
soil of the American coast were part of the of the High Seas , the text represented a
10
country’s land extension and, therefore, had milestone in the attempt to universalize in-
jurisdictional rights over them . As for fish- ternational norms referring to the rational
8
ing zones, Truman argued that a coastal management of marine natural resources
State should have some jurisdiction over the (BASTOS, 2005, p. 173). This Convention
11
natural resources of the adjacent High Seas establishes general principles for the regula-
for the purpose of exploiting and controlling tion and preservation of fisheries and other
these, in particular fisheries . natural resources, in addition to making it
9
The importance of this declaration is possible for coastal States to adopt unilater-
based on the non-contestation by interna- al measures in order to conserve biological
tional society. This was perhaps due to the resources and to fish in the high seas adja-
US hegemony at the time and/or due to cent to their territorial sea (Article 7).
these claims not restricting or harming the In summary, it can be said that the 1958
activities of other countries (BUSTAMAN- Geneva Conference on the Law of the Sea
TE, 1949). The years following the Truman had the great merit of universally regulating
proclamation were marked by a notable legal issues related to the sea. The four texts
evolution in the regulation of the seas. adopted can be considered landmarks of in-
Several other States began, as in the afore- ternational law, as they achieved significant
mentioned proclamation, to declare the success and managed to unify and clarify
existence of their continental shelves and historical themes. Despite all this progress,
fishing zones (GUEDES, Op. Cit., p. .38). it was not possible to delimit the extent of
In this sense, the United Nations made the territorial sea. Furthermore, the problem
a great effort to unify and universalize the of fisheries remained unresolved since the
various unilateral state acts and, from 1949 convention was not able to define precisely
onwards, the General Assembly began to the limits and state powers on the subject.
include issues on the regulation of the seas A fishing zone (or as it is currently called, an
214 BLUE ECONOMY
Exclusive Economic Zone) has not been es- are, and will continue to be, the legacy of all
tablished. Still, the imprecision in the delim- human beings” (BERNAERTS, 2006).
itation of the Continental Shelf constitutes In 1967, the Ambassador of Malta to
another failure of the Conference. the United Nations, Arvid Pardo, during the
In view of the unsuccessful results of the XXII session of the General Assembly, high-
First Conference, it was established a new lighted the need to regulate the exploration
meeting to take place to solve these prob- and exploitation of sea and ocean beds
lems, taking place in 1960, with the Second beyond the limits of national jurisdiction
United Nations Conference on the Law of (PARDO, 1968). As a result, the General As-
the Sea (DEAN, 1960). Once the work was sembly, through Resolution 2,340, created
started, it was noticed that the position of the Seabed Commission, which, in 1973,
the States remained very varied, as the short presented a draft of an international treaty
time between the two conferences was not to regulate the use of the seas.
enough to significantly change the overview After 11 sessions and numerous de-
of the first conference (GUEDES, Op. Cit., p. bates and amendments, on December 10,
48-49). For this reason, the Second United 1982 in the city of Montego Bay, Jamaica,
Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea the United Nations Convention on the Law
was unable to produce any binding docu- of the Sea (UNCLOS) was finally signed,
ment regulating the seas. with 130 votes in favor, 4 votes against and
Although the Geneva Conventions 17 abstentions. Despite almost a decade
13
were fundamentals at the time, in the fol- of discussions, some disagreements in the
lowing years they began to be the subject regulation of the exploitation of the seabed,
of numerous criticisms, mainly due to their of non-living resources of the soil and sub-
failure to delimit the breadth of the terri- soil beyond the spaces under national juris-
torial sea and establish more precise rules diction, the so-called Area, made even the
for the Continental Shelf. The use of the countries that signed the Convention delay
seas was advancing at an accelerated rate in ratify it or not. Its entry into force would
and conventions could not discipline the only occur one year after the 60th ratifica-
new realities that emerged (BASTOS, Op. tion, which occurred with the deposit of
Cit., p. 189) 12 Guyana accession in November 1993, with
The issue of the Continental Shelf and the the UN General Assembly, that is, almost 11
seabed has become the newest topic of de- years after its signature in Montego Bay. 14
bate on the international stage. The origin of The importance of UNCLOS for the reg-
the Third United Nations Conference on the ulation of the seas – and for all internation-
Law of the Sea is related, above all, to the al law – is revealed not only in the size of
exploitation of the seabed. A major interna- the text produced, but in the fact that it has
tional concern arose in the 1960s regarding managed to achieve its main and ambitious
this space, its delimitation and legal nature. objectives: to transform a wide range of top-
In 1966, US President Lyndon Johnson even ics to be deliberated – by number of par-
stated that “deep waters and ocean floors ticipating States – in a single internationally
The Regulation of the Sea: Consolidation and Perspectives 215