The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their ) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems (), and .[ International Waters , United Nations Development Programme]
"International waters" is not a defined term in international law. It is an informal term, which sometimes refers to waters beyond the "territorial sea" of any country.
The Convention on the High Seas, signed in 1958, which has 63 signatories, defined "high seas" to mean "all parts of the sea that are not included in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a State" and where "no State may validly purport to
subject any part of them to its sovereignty."[Text of CONVENTION ON THE HIGH SEAS (U.N.T.S. No. 6465, vol. 450, pp. 82–103)] The Convention on the High Seas was used as a foundation for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), signed in 1982, which recognized exclusive economic zones extending from the baseline, where coastal states have sovereign rights to the water column and sea floor as well as the natural resources found there.
The high seas make up 50% of the surface area of the planet and cover over two-thirds of the ocean.
Ships sailing the high seas are generally under the jurisdiction of the flag state (if there is one);[UNCLOS article 92(1)] however, when a ship is involved in certain criminal acts, such as piracy,[UNCLOS article 105] any nation can exercise jurisdiction under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction. International waters can be contrasted with internal waters, territorial waters and exclusive economic zones.
UNCLOS also contains, in its part XII, special provisions for the protection of the marine environment, which, in certain cases, allow to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction over foreign ships on the high seas if they violate international environmental rules (adopted by the IMO), such as the MARPOL Convention.[Jesper Jarl Fanø (2019). Enforcing International Maritime Legislation on Air Pollution through UNCLOS. Hart Publishing.]
Underground Transboundary Waters
When an underground water crosses international boundaries, the term transboundary aquifer applies. The term transboundariness can then be applied, which is a concept, measure and approach first introduced in 2017
when talking about underground transboundary waters.
The importance of this approach is that the physical properties of aquifers become merely additional variables within the broad spectrum of the transboundary nature of an aquifer: social (population); economic (groundwater efficiency); political (cross-border); existing research or data; water quality and quantity; other issues that drive the agenda (security, trade, immigration, etc.).
The criteria proposed through this approach attempt to encompass and quantify all potential variables that play a role in defining the transboundary nature and multidimensional boundaries of an underground transboundary water.
International waterways
Several international treaties have established freedom of navigation on semi-enclosed seas.
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The Copenhagen Convention of 1857 opened access to the Baltic Sea by abolishing the Sound Dues and making the Danish straits an international waterway free to all commercial shipping. Separately, the Royal Ordinance of 1999 regulates the access of foreign warships to Danish waters.
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Several conventions have opened the Bosphorus and Dardanelles to shipping. The latest, the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Turkish Straits, maintains the straits' status as an international waterway.
Other international treaties have opened up rivers, which are not traditionally international waterways.
Disputes over international waters
Current unresolved disputes over whether particular waters are "International waters" include:
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Arctic Ocean: While Canada, Denmark, Russia and Norway all regard parts of the Arctic seas as national waters or internal waters, most European Union countries and the United States officially regard the whole region as international waters. The Northwest Passage through the Arctic Archipelago is one of the more prominent examples, with Canada claiming it as internal waters, while the United States and the European Union considers it an international strait.
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Southern Ocean: Australian claim to an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in Antarctica is challenged by Japan.
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Okinotorishima: Japanese claim to an EEZ around Okinotorishima is challenged by China, South Korea, and Taiwan.
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South China Sea: Disputes exist between Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
International waters agreements
| + Limits of national jurisdiction and sovereignty |
| Outer space (including Earth ; the Moon and other celestial bodies, and their orbits) |
| international airspace |
| international waters surface |
| international waters |
| international seabed surface |
| international seabed underground |
|
Global agreements
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International Freshwater Treaties Database (freshwater only).
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The Yearbook of International Cooperation on Environment and Development profiles agreements regarding the Marine Environment, Marine Living Resources and Freshwater Resources.
Marine Environment
Marine Living Resources
Freshwater Resources
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1972 London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention 1972).
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1973 London International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 MARPOL
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1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, United Nations; especially parts XII–XIV).
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1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (CIW) – not ratified.
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Transboundary Groundwater Treaty, Bellagio Draft – proposed, but not signed.
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Other global conventions and treaties with implications for International Waters:
Regional agreements
At least ten conventions are included within the Regional Seas Program of
UNEP,
including:
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the Atlantic Ocean Coast of West Africa and Central Africa
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the North-East Pacific (Antigua Convention)
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the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention)
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the wider Caribbean (Cartagena Convention)
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the South-East Pacific
[ Lima Convention , 1986)]
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the Pacific Ocean (Nouméa Convention)
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the East African seaboard
[ Nairobi Convention , 1985);]
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the Kuwait region (Kuwait Convention)
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the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden (Jeddah Convention)
Addressing regional freshwater issues is the 1992 Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE/Helsinki Water Convention)
Water-body-specific agreements
International waters institutions
Freshwater institutions
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The UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
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The International Joint Commission between Canada and United States (IJC-CMI)
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The International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO)
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The International Shared Aquifer Resource Management project
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The International Water Boundary Commission (US Section) between Mexico and United States
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The International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
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The IUCN Water and Nature Initiative (WANI)
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The Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR)
Marine institutions
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The International Maritime Organization (IMO)
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The International Seabed Authority
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The International Whaling Commission
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The UNEP Regional Seas Programme
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The UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
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The International Ocean Institute
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The IUCN Global Marine and Polar Programme (GMPP)
See also
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Baseline
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Birth aboard aircraft and ships
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Continental shelf
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Duty-free shop
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Extraterritoriality
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Extraterritorial jurisdiction
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Extraterritorial operation
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Freedom of the seas
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Hugo Grotius
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International zone
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Ocean colonization
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Overfishing
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Seasteading
Explanatory notes
External links
