"Constitution for the Oceans"

On 10 December 1982 the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was opened for signature and signed by no less than 119 States on the first day. This step marked the culmination of the most comprehensive, lengthy and complex negotiations ever seen in the history of diplomacy. Fourteen years of negotiations, in which over 150 States participated, achieved the intended goal: the enactment of a Convention containing a comprehensive legal order for the entire ocean space.

This legal order was conceived and created by States from all continents, by States with differing interests, divergent political and economic systems and at very different stages of development.

The Convention on the Law of the Sea is still to be seen as the most comprehensive and significant multilateral agreement under the auspices of the United Nations in the history of international law. It replaces the four 1958 Geneva Conventions on law of the sea and regulates almost all fields of international maritime law.

In the Interest of All Peoples

As a "constitution for the oceans", the Convention, with its compulsory dispute settlementls system, is an important element of an international order for peace and the rule of law. Its implementation and observance is in the interest of all peoples and all institutions and entities which depend on the sea and on using the sea.

The Convention on the Law of the Sea creates a compulsory legal order for all oceans, including the seabed and deep seabed. Its regime encompasses all uses of the ocean space, from shipping to fisheries and from ocean mining to energy extraction. It also includes the preservation and protection of the marine environment and marine research.