Introduction

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was described at the time of its adoption as “the greatest international legislative effort undertaken by the United Nations and probably the greatest ever undertaken in the annals of international law as a whole.” The Convention sets out the rules and principles governing all ocean activities, from navigation to fishing, including marine scientific research and deep seabed mining. It was the product of several years of intense negotiations.

The conclusion of the Law of the Sea Convention was not the first time that the international community had sought to codify and progressively develop the law of the sea. The twentieth century saw a number of international conferences that were dedicated to this task. These attempts to codify the law of the sea illustrate the increasing institutionalization of law-making described in the previous chapter.

This chapter will trace the progression of several international conferences dedicated to the codification and progressive development of the law of the sea. It will start with a short overview of initial attempts at codification by the League of Nations and by the United Nations before turning to a more detailed look at the promulgation of the Law of the Sea Convention itself. Given its importance to the modern law of the sea, it is appropriate to consider in detail how the Law of the Sea Convention was negotiated and to what extent it has met its drafters' hopes of creating a single, coherent framework for the law of the sea.