Law of the Sea
| Module title | Law of the Sea |
|---|---|
| Module code | LAWM127 |
| Academic year | 2022/3 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 20 |
|---|
Module description
Human activity in the ocean has long since passed breaking point, having witnessed the decimation of marine biodiversity, pollution, crime and piracy, and routine health and safety failures. What is more, given that this vast shared resource on our “blue planet” is so integral to survival, it is increasingly becoming a global arena for transnational conflicts over growing activities in an ever-shrinking space, including shipping, oil & gas extraction, renewable energy, fishing, conservation, mining, dredging, research, telecommunications, construction & infrastructure, militarisation, cable & pipelaying, bioprospecting, recreation, and tourism.
This module provides you with a detailed, analytical and critical appreciation of the international and transnational legal system managing of our global ocean. This course provides you with a detailed, analytical and critical appreciation of the international and transnational legal system managing of our global ocean. Given the significance of the topic and its breadth, it is available on all LLM pathways (general, international, and commercial).
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aim of this module is to provide you with a comprehensive introduction to the unique legal system governing the ocean and to equip you with the deeper analytical and critical thinking skills which will enable you to explain or appraise the law of the sea. You will be expected to become conversant in the law of the sea from a public international law perspective, such as becoming familiar with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the key cases and materials attributing sovereign rights and responsibilities across the various maritime zones. However, you will also be expected to begin grappling the law of the sea from a multidirectional and transnational perspective, recognising the growing role for non-state actors, as well as global and regional regimes, private international law, private norms and codes of conduct, and stakeholder-inclusive forms of governance.
While you may eventually channel your research upon a particular aspect of marine law and policy, you will be expected to demonstrate a confident knowledge of the broader legal framework and an ability to identify, explain, defend or criticise relevant rules, instruments, actors, institutions, and procedures. This course is inquiry-based as well as student-led and research-led. As such, the seminar materials, questions for research and discussion, as well as the presentation and elucidation of knowledge and analysis, is mostly led by you and your co-researchers. You will therefore be expected to think, write, and develop argumentation in a highly independent manner, while working in an interactive, inclusive, informal and collegial atmosphere. The skills and knowledge obtained will serve you well for future employment, whether producing future research or academic outputs, or working within organisations dealing with marine issues, such as NGOs, multinational corporations, government agencies, research and epistemic bodies, or within the legal profession.
The course will be researcher-led, with the students becoming the researchers. As such, the first introductory lecture will give you a grounding in the legal framework and the key rules, instruments and cases, after which you will be expected to develop much of the materials, reading and activities for the rest of the course, as well as to be principally responsible for crafting the precise enquiries and areas of research focus. Throughout you will also be given the necessary support and assistance from the tutor.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate a confident, fluent and critical comprehension of the key legal instruments, actors, and institutions in the law of the sea, as well as an ability to dissect and discuss their relative functions and roles;
- 2. Advise, discuss or debate complex issues relating to the legal system managing the ocean in a manner which is accurate, well-informed, and open to wider disciplines or viewpoints;
- 3. Criticise or defend case law, marine policy instruments, and international or transnational legal rules relating to the uses of the ocean;
- 4. Manipulate multiple contrasting viewpoints within the ocean context, by evidencing an ability to comprehend, coordinate, justify and reconstruct the multifarious and transnational competing interests in the marine environment, including multiple economic, social, ecological, and cultural interests.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Demonstrate detailed and comprehensive knowledge of key international, regional, and transnational legal instruments relating to ocean management, including an ability to précis and dissect key cases, as well as an ability to expand on their critical and contextual implications;
- 6. Demonstrate a bold and creative aptitude for selecting, integrating and presenting a range of relevant materials, which are suitable to addressing your particular area of enquiry;
- 7. Illustrate how you can independently, reflectively and coherently develop original analysis, with use of suitable sources (legal or other disciplines), in order to construct a well-refined and well-reasoned argument relating to the international law of the sea, marine policy, or ocean governance.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 8. Identify, retrieve, synthesise, and utilise a wide range of research materials, including primary and secondary legal sources, reports and studies, and academic materials;
- 9. Present, explain and critically evaluate a range of substantive and theoretical arguments throughout the seminar, formative and summative exercises;
- 10. Prove your capacity to work independently and effectively in a research environment, and to manage your time efficiently in preparing for scheduled activities, exercises and the assessment.
- 11. Plan workshop materials and group activities which provide for effective acquisition of skills and knowledge, as well as to intellectually challenge and stimulate your colleagues.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some of the following topics:
- Marine Environmental Law
- The Protection of Biodiversity
- Marine Scientific Research and Bioprospecting
- Shipping and Commerce
- Mining, Energy, and Construction
- Military Operations, Security, Crime, and Piracy
- Health, Safety, and Disaster Prevention
- Wreck and Underwater Cultural Heritage
- Sharing the Global Commons
- Ocean Law: Past, Present, and Future
- Sources, Actors and Institutions in the Law of the Sea
- Integrated Ocean Management
- Sovereign Rights and Responsibilities in Internal Waters, Territorial Sea, Archipelagic Waters, Contiguous Zone, and International Straits
- Sovereign Rights and Responsibilities in the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf
- The Juridical Nature of the High Seas and Deep Seabed
- Establishing Jurisdiction: Nationality, Registration, and Boundary Delimitation
- Procedural Law and Dispute Resolution
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 270 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 3 | 1 x 3-hour introductory lecture/seminar/workshop |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 27 | 9 x 3-hour student-led seminars, with facilitation and guidance by the lecturer |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 170 | 170 hours of independent study (including preparation for seminars and formative work) |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 100 | 100 hours of work on the summative assessment |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 2,000 words | 1-10 | Written/Oral |
| Seminar Leadership Preparation | 30-minute meeting with convener and follow-up email | 1-11 | Written/Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 90 | 0 | 10 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 90 | 7,500 words | 1-10 | Written/Oral |
| Seminar Leadership | 10 | Running a minimum of two seminars in a small group | 1-11 | Written/Oral |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (7,500 words) | 1-10 | August/September reassessment period |
| Seminar Leadership | See reassessment notes below | 1-11 | See reassessment notes below |
Re-assessment notes
Students are assessed individually (while working in groups) for seminar leadership across a minimum of two seminars. Reassessment at the end of the academic year for seminar leadership is technically not possible. However, if students have evidence of extenuating circumstances which mean that they cannot co-lead a seminar on one of their assigned dates, they are required to swap with other students or otherwise agree to co-lead on another date. In the unlikely event that this is also not possible, the student may be required to evidence the respective learning objectives through other means (such as providing evidence of planning and leadership during seminar attendance or co-leading a seminar in the following academic year).
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- *Yoshifumi Tanaka, The International Law of the Sea, 3 nd Ed (CUP) 2019
- Donald Rothwell and Tim Stephens, The International Law of the Sea, 2 nd Ed (Hart) 2016
- R.R. Churchill & A.V. Lowe, The Law of the Sea, 3 rd Ed (MUP) 1999
- Donald Rothwell, Alex Oude Elferink, Karen Scott and Tim Stephens (Eds), The Oxford Handbook of the Law of the Sea (OUP) 2015
- David Freestone, Richard Barnes and David Ong (Eds), The Law of the Sea: Progress and Prospects (OUP) 2006
- James Harrison, Saving the Oceans Through Law: The International Legal Framework for the Protection of the Marine Environment (OUP) 2017
- Rosemary Rayfuse (Ed), Research Handbook on International Marine Environmental Law (Edward Elgar) 2015
* - Given the research-led and inquiry-based nature of the course, you will be expected to conduct your own independent research on the seminar topics using a range of sources. However, to provide us all with a consistent foundation of understanding, it is suggested that you also make use of a textbook to support your learning. The recommended text is Tanaka’s book, ‘The International Law of the Sea’ (CUP, 2015). However, you may prefer to use Rothwell & Stephens’s book of the same name (Hart, 2016). While some copies of both these books are available in the library, it might therefore be prudent for you to purchase your own copy of one of them.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
ELE - vle.exeter.ac.uk
- UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ( http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf )
- UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea ( http://www.un.org/depts/los/ )
- Various Journals and Law Reports, e.g., International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law (http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/15718085 ), Ocean Development & International Law (https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/uodl20/current ), Marine Policy ( https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/marine-policy ), International Law Studies ( http://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/ils/ ), Tulane Maritime Law Journal (on HeinOnline), Asia-Pacific Journal of Ocean Law and Policy ( http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/24519391 ).
- ITLOS Case Reports ( https://www.itlos.org/cases/list-of-cases/ )
- ICJ Case Reports ( http://www.icj-cij.org/en/list-of-all-cases )
- PCA Case Reports ( https://pca-cpa.org/en/cases/ )
- Nordquist, Nandan, and Rosenne (Eds), (2012), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982: A Commentary, Vol I-VII and Supplementary Documents ( http://0-referenceworks.brillonline.com.lib.exeter.ac.uk/browse/united-nations-convention-on-the-law-of-the-sea )
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
- International Maritime Organization ( http://www.imo.org/en/ )
- UN FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Portal ( http://www.fao.org/fishery/en )
- Convention on Biological Diversity Portal ( https://www.cbd.int )
- UNESCO Underwater Cultural Heritage Portal ( http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/underwater-cultural-heritage/ )
- Alexander Proelss (Ed), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: A Commentary (Hart) 2017
- Jon van Dyke and Seoung-Yong Hong (Eds), Maritime Boundary Disputes, Settlement Processes, and the Law of the Sea (Brill) 2005
- Natalie Klein, Dispute Settlement in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (CUP) 2005
- James Kraska, Contemporary Maritime Piracy: International Law, Strategy, and Diplomacy at Sea (Praeger) 2011
- Natalie Klein, Maritime Security and the Law of the Sea (OUP) 2011
- Douglas Guilfoyle, Shipping Interdiction and the Law of the Sea (CUP) 2011
- Douglas Guilfoyle, Modern Piracy: Legal Challenges and Responses (Edward Elgar) 2013
- Sarah Dromgoole, Underwater Cultural Heritage and International Law (CUP) 2013
- Cameron Jefferies, Marine Mammal Conservation and the Law of the Sea (OUP) 2016
- Yoshifumi Tanaka, A Dual Approach to Ocean Governance: The Cases of Zonal and Integrated Management in International Law of the Sea (Routledge) 2009
- Elisabeth Mann Borgese, The Oceanic Circle: Governing the Seas as a Global Resource (United Nations University Press) 1988
- Pretty much all of the Brill ‘Publications on Ocean Development’ are very useful resources (seehttps://brill.com/view/serial/POOD ). However, note, many of these are not available at Exeter’s library.
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 01/05/2018 |
| Last revision date | 02/04/2020 |
