{"id":371126,"date":"2026-09-05T15:36:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T10:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=371126"},"modified":"2026-09-05T15:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T10:06:29","slug":"united-nations-convention-on-the-law-of-the-sea-unclos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/united-nations-convention-on-the-law-of-the-sea-unclos\/","title":{"rendered":"United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"content-box-green\">\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> UNCLOS has been in the news because of maritime disputes, including those involving the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"red-h2-box\">About United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_371130\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-371130\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-371130\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Source-UNCLOS.jpg?resize=300%2C143&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)\" width=\"300\" height=\"143\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Source-UNCLOS.jpg?resize=300%2C143&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Source-UNCLOS.jpg?resize=768%2C365&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Source-UNCLOS.jpg?w=886&amp;ssl=1 886w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-371130\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source &#8211; UNCLOS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>UNCLOS<\/strong> is an <strong>international treaty<\/strong> that <strong>provides a comprehensive legal framework<\/strong> for the <strong>world\u2019s oceans and seas.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Adoption:<\/strong> It was adopted <strong>in 1982 at Montego Bay, Jamaica.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It entered into <strong>force in 1994.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Predecessor:<\/strong> It <strong>replaced the four 1958 Geneva Conventions<\/strong> dealing with <strong>maritime zones, continental shelf, high seas, and marine resources<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Members:<\/strong> It has<strong> 168 parties,<\/strong> including the <strong>European Union.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>While the <strong>United States has neither signed nor ratified it.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>India\u2019s Position: <\/strong>India <strong>signed and ratified UNCLOS in 1995.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Secretariat:<\/strong> The <strong>Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS)<\/strong> of the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations serves as the secretariat of the Convention on the Law of the Sea.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key Maritime Zones:<\/strong> UNCLOS <strong>divides ocean spaces into five main zones<\/strong> measured <strong>from a coastal baseline:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Internal Waters:<\/strong> These waters <strong>lie landward of the baseline,<\/strong> where the <strong>coastal state has full sovereignty.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Territorial Sea:<\/strong> It <strong>extends up to 12 nautical miles,<\/strong> with <strong>foreign ships<\/strong> enjoying the <strong>right of innocent passage.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Contiguous Zone:<\/strong> It extends <strong>up to 24 nautical miles<\/strong> and <strong>allows action against violations of customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitation laws.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Exclusive Economic Zone:<\/strong> It extends <strong>up to 200 nautical miles,<\/strong> giving <strong>coastal states rights over living and non-living resources.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>High Seas:<\/strong> These <strong>areas are outside national jurisdiction<\/strong> and are <strong>open to all nations under international rules.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Specialized Bodies:<\/strong> The Convention has created <strong>three new institutions on the international scene :<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea:<\/strong> It settles <strong>disputes related<\/strong> to the <strong>interpretation and application of UNCLOS.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>International Seabed Authority:<\/strong> It regulates<strong> mineral-related activities<\/strong> in the international seabed area.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf:<\/strong> It examines<strong> submissions by coastal states on the outer limits of their continental shelf.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key Features:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Peaceful Use:<\/strong> It promotes the <strong>peaceful use of the oceans.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Resource Management:<\/strong> It regulates the <strong>use and management of marine resources.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Marine Conservation:<\/strong> It promotes <strong>conservation of living resources and preservation of the marine environment.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Legal Framework:<\/strong> It <strong>establishes<\/strong> rules governing States\u2019 <strong>rights and jurisdiction in maritime spaces.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: UNCLOS has been in the news because of maritime disputes, including those involving the Strait of Hormuz. About United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) UNCLOS is an international treaty that provides a comprehensive legal framework for the world\u2019s oceans and seas. Adoption: It was adopted in 1982 at Montego Bay,&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/united-nations-convention-on-the-law-of-the-sea-unclos\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,1236,12039],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-371126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-international-organisations","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}