Thank you to those who provided quick and clear insights into the UNCLOS
question concerning the regulatory distinction between territorial seas and
EEZs. The collected responses below would make for a nice lecture on the
topic!
Paul
--
Paul Harris:
It's even simpler than that: territorial waters are no different than lakes
(e.g., the Great Lakes); they are part of a state's territory, with all the
sovereign rights that come with that. In contrast, the EEZ is an area
where the associated state has more rights than other states, but not
exclusive rights (unless of course the state happens to be China; it
insists that the US cannot fly spy planes in its EEZ, which is silly, and
it claims the whole South China Sea as its own TERRITORY; again, silly, but
it's hard to ignore given China's growing strength).
--
Hans Bruyninckx:
The main difference is that the EEZ is part of the international waters and
thus does not fall under national law. The 12 mile zone is part of the
national territory and this falls under the jurisdiction of the state. A
good example to illustrate the difference is that a state has to claim an
EEZ (it is not automatic! Peru was the first state to do so), since this
falls under international law, this also creates obligations under
international law: one of those is that the state is obliged to protect the
marine environment in the EEZ. This is not the case in the territorial
waters where the state has the sovereign right to protect or not
--
Wil Burns:
Here’s some of the distinctions:
1. Within the territorial zone, vessels are subject to the rules of
innocent passage, which includes all of the restrictions under Article 19,
so while a vessel traversing in an EEZ can, for example, take on aircraft
or other weapons, or can conduct military exercises, it can’t do so in the
territorial seas;
2. Submarines in the territorial sea need to surface and fly the flag, not
so in the EEZs;
3. Coastal states can carve out sea lands in the territorial seas;
4. Territorial seas and all the rights of sovereignty that flow from this
inure to a coastal State simply on the basis of geography; by distinction,
States need to declare an EEZ to benefit from UNCLOs specific legal
protections. Some States haven’t, e.g. the UK, which relies on Continental
Shelf Rights under the Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf 1958;
5. Part V of UNCLOS places restrictions on coastal States vis-à-vis the
EEZs which don’t apply to territorial seas, e.g. erection of installations
and structures that may interfere with transit through recognized
international sea lanes.
--
Jeremy Firestone:
TS is sovereign territory—EEZ just have sov rights. There is a difference
between what other states can do as far as navigation—can’t enter airspace
or navigate submerged in a submarine, e.g., in TS. Above water, nav has to
be “innocent passage” in TS; freedom of the seas applies in EEZ. There are
also differences regarding sharing of surplus natural resources (e.g.,
fish) between EEZ and TS. There are greater ability to enforce sanitary,
customs, etc in TS than EEZ. Coastal State is also a term of art which
refers to a state where a ship, e.g, navigates into its EEZ or TS but
doesn’t land in its ports (that would be a port state).
--
Peter J. Jacques:
The difference is that the coastal state has fiduciary responsibility for
the EEZ. Peter Sand’s piece details this well: (2004) Sovereignty
Bounded: Public Trusteeship for Common Pool Resources?. Global
Environmental Politics (4) , 47–71. For a summary some of this is
discussed in my piece for the ISA-Blackwell compendium: International
Regulation of Ocean Pollution and Ocean Fisheries
--
Dimitris Stevis
Territorial waters extends 12 miles outwards of the coast (which is often
not as clearly defined as one may think). Within TW countries have complete
jurisdiction with the exception of innocent passage (i.e., other countries'
vessels, including military ones, can navigate though it without stopping
or engaging in any activities violating the coastal country's laws). If the
distance is less than 24 miles between coasts then you have ways to delimit
provided that the countries at add are willing to use them.
EEZ extends outwards of the coast (or 188 miles out of TW) and in that zone
the coastal country has economic jurisdiction. Other countries' vessels can
stop, engage in certain activities etc.. However, there are still important
issues here involving anadromous and straddling fisheries, environmental
uses etc. Moreover, some countries like Brazil oppose military uses by
others, like placing listening devices, engaging in military practices or
hanging out in ways that seem threatening. Similarly, if there is less than
400 miles between coasts there are ways to solve the problem, if countries
are willing to use them.
The ICJ has played an important role in creating law with respect to TWs
and EEZ.
