New Knowledge and Changing Circumstances in the Law of the Sea

During the four decades that have passed since the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was negotiated, there has been considerable advancement in the knowledge of a number of important issues addressed in the Convention. Among those issues are marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, including marine genetic resources; the continental shelf, including seafloor highs, and its outer limits; and deep seabed mineral resources. At the same time, as a consequence of global warming, fundamental changes are taking place in many areas related to the law of the sea. In particular, sea level is rising globally, which may affect baselines, maritime limits and boundaries of coastal States.

New Knowledge and Changing Circumstances in the Law of the Sea, edited by Tomas Heidar, which includes twenty-two Chapters by prominent legal and scientific experts, focuses on these critical developments, the challenges they pose to the existing legal framework, and the various ways in which States are addressing these challenges.

Tomas Heidar is Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and Director of the Law of the Sea Institute of Iceland. He is author of numerous writings and publications and co-edited, for example, Legal and Scientific Aspects of Continental Shelf Limits (Martinus Nijhoff, 2004) and Law, Science and Ocean Management (Martinus Nijhoff, 2007).