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Public International Law · Unit 2

State Territory, Jurisdiction and the Law of the Sea

Unit 2 of Public International Law (syllabus: Module II — State territory, its acquisition and loss; State jurisdiction; State responsibility; the Law of the Sea Convention 1982 — territorial sea, contiguous zone, continental shelf, exclusive economic zone and high seas; delimitation of maritime boundaries; the common heritage of mankind and the international seabed area). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.

What this unit covers

  • How far out does sovereignty run, and where does it stop?
  • What makes passage through the territorial sea innocent, and what may the coastal State do about it?
  • What exactly does a coastal State get in the exclusive economic zone?
  • How far does the continental shelf extend, and on what does the right rest?
  • How is a maritime boundary drawn between neighbouring States?
  • Who may exercise authority over a ship on the high seas?
  • Who owns the deep seabed?
  • When is conduct the act of a State?
  • Can a State be responsible for doing nothing?
  • What must a responsible State do, and what may the injured State do?
  • On what basis may a State try an offence committed abroad?
  • On what conditions is a fugitive extradited, and what may he then be tried for?
  • May a State grant asylum in its embassy, and decide for itself that the fugitive is political?

Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.

Provisions

Leading cases

Full case summaries

Exam questions on this unit

In this paper