International Law of the Sea

A sound marine environment provides the foundation for all life. Thus rules of international law governing the oceans are of central importance in the international community. The law is also crucial for Denmark that has important maritime industry.
Furthermore, the course of the law of the sea will be useful when studying other related fields of law, such as international environmental law, climate change law and energy/natural resource law, since this course will also deal with contemporary issues regarding, inter alia, marine natural resources, including biological diversity, and impacts of climate change on the oceans.
This course seeks to introduce students the comprehensive legal frameworks of International Law of the Sea.

The course is divided into two parts.

The first part, ‘Divided Ocean’, deals with:
(i) principles and development of the law of the sea,
(ii) baseline and related issues,
(iii) marine spaces under the territorial sovereignty (internal waters, territorial sea, international straits, and the archipelagic waters),
(iv) marine spaces under the sovereign rights (the contiguouszone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf),
(v) marine spaces beyond national jurisdiction (the high seas and the Area), and
(vi) maritime delimitation.

The second part of this course, ‘Our Common Ocean’, addresses:
(i) conservation of marine living resources,
(ii) marine environmental protection,
(iii) conservation of marine biological diversity,
(iv) marine scientific research,
(v) maintenance of international peace and security and
(vi) peaceful settlement of international disptues at sea.

While there is no requirement for students to complete other MA courses, a basic knowledge of public international law will be helpful to follow the course. In addition, this course is particularly relevant for students who wish to work in maritime industry in the future. This course is given in English.