JUR-3050 General Law of the Sea - 15 stp

The course is part of the Master of Laws (LL.M) in Law of the Sea programme, cf. Programme description for Master of Laws (LL.M) in Law of the Sea.

Students at the five year integrated master´s degree programme in law (Master i rettsvitenskap) may choose this course as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the elective part of the programme's fifth year, cf. Studieplan for graden Master i rettsvitenskap ved UiT med tilhørende fagbeskrivelse for 5. avdeling.

Followed by necessary application and admission process, other students on master level may also choose this course.

The course covers the following topics:

• A general overview of the different maritime zones (internal waters, territorial sea, archipelagic waters, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone (EEZ), continental shelf, high seas and the Area);
• The principles and procedures for the delimitation of overlapping maritime zones and the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf;
• The substantive regimes for the uses of these maritime zones, in particular the exploitation of marine resources, navigation, marine scientific research and military uses and the appurtenant rights and obligations of coastal states and other states and the role of competent international organizations therein;
• Attention will also be paid to the role of international dispute settlement in the law of the sea, in particular the mechanism laid down in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention).
• The course also provides an introduction to the topics that will be further discussed in the continuation course JUR-3054. This will facilitate participation in JUR-3054.

Other applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree of at least 180 ECTS credits, comprising or in combination with at least 80 ECTS credits in either law or social/political science.

Admitted students should have basic knowledge of public international law.

Students at the Integrated master´s degree programme in law may choose this course as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the elective part of the programme's fifth year, cf. Programme Specification for the Master's Degree in Jurisprudence at the University of Tromsø (Studieplan for graden Master i rettsvitenskap ved Universitetet i Tromsø). Students in the programme's fouth year must have completed and passed compulsory practice on the master's in jurisprudence to be able to complete the course in the autumn semester.

For information about the application process, please visit the web-pages of the UiT Admissions office.

Knowledge: Having passed the exam, the student shall have acquired:

• Advanced knowledge on the various maritime zones and their legal status;
• Advanced knowledge on the rights and jurisdiction of coastal states and restrictions thereon within their maritime zones;
• Knowledge on principles for delimitation of maritime zones and delineation of the outer limits of the continental shelf;
• Advanced knowledge on the rights and jurisdiction of states and restrictions thereon in areas beyond national jurisdiction (high seas and the Area);
• Advanced knowledge on the rights and freedoms of states relating to navigation and their limitations;
• Specialised knowledge on rights and obligations on the conservation and management of living marine resources (both commercially and non-commercially exploited species);
• Specialised knowledge on rights and obligations (both procedural and substantive) on the protection and preservation of the marine environment under the law of the sea;
• Knowledge on the dispute settlement procedures and on the rules on marine scientific research;
• Specialised knowledge on the legal regime for seabed and subsoil beyond national jurisdiction;
• Knowledge on the history of law of the sea and conservation of marine biological diversity;
• Knowledge on rules on military uses of the sea.

Skills and general qualifications: Having passed the exam, the student will:

• Be able to identify and analyse questions of theoretical and practical character in General Law of the Sea
• Be able to independently and critically apply the sources of General Law of the Sea
• Be able to identify the limitations of existing law
• Be able to use English terminology with this field of law