The Law of the Sea: Normative Context and Interactions with Other Legal Regimes

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea follows a comprehensive approach and can be interpreted dynamically to include the regulation of all potential human uses of the ocean, but the law of the sea cannot be viewed in isolation from other fields of international law. International law does not resemble a hierarchically structured legal system; its different parts interact when different rules address the same activity or situation.

The academic discussion concerning the specialization and proliferation of international legal rules and dispute settlement bodies has theoretical as well as practical relevance for the law of the sea and its interaction with other parts of international law. The intensified use of the oceans for different purposes and the ongoing proliferation of international rules addressing different activities from different perspectives and with distinct foci require a more thorough evaluation of how the law of the sea relates to other fields of international law, how the normative context can be approached theoretically and if interdisciplinary interfaces can be adequately addressed. This book discusses the normative context of the law of the sea and the interactions of the law of the sea with other legal regimes.

By connecting high-quality research with new ideas and perspectives, this book offers expertise from different fields and perspectives in which the interaction between the law of the sea and other fields of international law becomes particularly relevant.

Nele Matz-Lück is Professor of Public International Law at Kiel University, Germany, and Co-director of the Walther Schucking Institute for International Law. In addition to her interest in the law of the sea, her research and publications focus on international environmental law and the law of international treaties.

Øystein Jensen is Research Professor at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Oslo, Norway, and Professor of Law at the University of South-Eastern Norway. His current research foci include the role of courts and tribunals in the law of the sea, the establishment of maritime limits and boundaries, and the role of expert regimes in international law.

Elise Johansen is Professor of Law at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Specialist Counsel at Wikborg Rein’s Sustainability, Climate and Ocean group. Her field of expertise is international and national climate and environmental law and the law of the sea, focusing especially on the interaction between climate law, sustainability goals and the law of the sea.