Flag Verification on the High Seas: Understanding Requirements for Masters and Commanders
TL;DR: In this article, the evidentiary threshold for reasonable doubt as to the nationality of vessels lies, so as to justify nonconsensual visit and search by a foreign warship, concluding with a caution against overstretching the right of visit to accommodate law enforcement purposes not envisaged in the drafting of Article 110.
Abstract: Operational reporting from the Middle East indicates that the exercise by warships of a right of visit on the high seas, in order to verify the flag of the boarded vessel, is an important part of contemporary maritime enforcement operations. However, this reliance on ‘flag verification boardings,’ pursuant to Article 110 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, challenges the proper balance of law enforcement authority against the traditional freedom of navigation. It is therefore necessary to establish clearly for both civilian masters and warship commanders where the evidentiary threshold for reasonable doubt as to the nationality of vessels lies, so as to justify non-consensual visit and search by a foreign warship. This article makes an objective, evidence-based assessment of the threshold, concluding with a caution against over-stretching the right of visit to accommodate law enforcement purposes not envisaged in the drafting of Article 110.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe five regularly employed authorizations for maritime law enforcement operations at sea: flag State consent, agreed pre-authorization, coastal State jurisdiction, UN Security Council resolutions, and the right of visit.
Abstract: Although there are areas of uncertainty and overlap, authorizations for maritime law enforcement operations are beholden to a different regime from that which governs the conduct of armed conflict at sea. This article seeks to briefly describe five regularly employed authorizations for maritime law enforcement operations at sea: flag State consent, agreed pre-authorization, coastal State jurisdiction, UN Security Council resolutions, and the right of visit.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the lack of a legal finish for the majority of drug seizures made within international waters in the Indian Ocean region and proposed three possible avenues towards improved outcomes: combining the issues of terrorism and terrorist financing in Afghanistan with Indian Ocean heroin trafficking, taking a more robust approach to asserting follow-on jurisdiction over unflagged vessels; and better utilisation of existing obligations, mechanisms and networks in order to achieve improved interdiction rates over flagged vessels.
Abstract: Use of the Indian Ocean as a major drugs trafficking route – particularly for heroin originating in Afghanistan – poses a maritime security and a maritime law enforcement challenge. This article seeks to explore one dimension of this challenge – the lack of a ‘legal finish’ (such as prosecution) for the majority of drug seizures made within international waters in the Indian Ocean region. The article proposes three possible avenues towards improved outcomes: Formally combining the issues of terrorism and terrorist financing in Afghanistan with Indian Ocean heroin trafficking, in order to better leverage existing authorisations relating to the former; taking a more robust approach to asserting follow-on jurisdiction over unflagged vessels; and better utilisation of existing obligations, mechanisms and networks in order to achieve improved interdiction rates over flagged vessels.
6 citations
Cites background from "Flag Verification on the High Seas:..."
...…Seas2) is that any authorised State vessel seeking to board another vessel that is flying the flag of a different State, must first seek permission from the Flag State to do so (Lewis, 2015; MV Saiga (no.2) Case, 1999; Rothwell & Stephens, 2010, pp. 158–160; Zwanenberg, 1961, pp. 786–787)....
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: McLaughlin et al. as discussed by the authors explored alternative options for enhancing Law of the Sea Convention compliance options that do not necessarily require the'more law' path to granularity and implementation.
Abstract: That the Law of the Sea Convention faces implementation challenges is nothing new; it is, as many have noted, a framework and a scaffold a constitution for the oceans which necessarily left many matters of detail to future negotiation, associated instruments, and state practice. What has emerged over the last two decades, however, is an increasing reluctance on the part of states to pursue implantation via new, more detailed, treaty commitments. This article explores alternative options for enhancing Law of the Sea Convention compliance options that do not necessarily require the 'more law' path to granularity and implementation. The analysis begins by describing the amenability of the LOSC to refinement processes, focusing upon its flexibility (including its ‘constructive ambiguity’) and conduciveness (the significant allowance built into the LOSC for domestic contextualization, interpretation, and implementation). With this background established, the analysis then explores four alternative pathways to facilitating and reinforcing compliance pathways that do not involve the negotiation of additional hard law or mixed hard/soft law instruments, nor the establishment of new governance institutions. The first alternative is to employ a ‘process’ approach, noting the relative success of this option in the maritime domain as represented by the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS). The second alternative approach is the adaptable employment of existing rules to meet an evolving governance challenge the issue of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) being a case study on point. The third option is to apply refined interpretive endeavors to existing 1 Professor of Military and Security Law; Director, Australian Centre for the Study of Armed Conflict and Society, UNSW Canberra; r.mclaughlin@adfa.edu.au. 132 OCEAN AND COASTAL LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 25:1 authorizations which have hitherto been subject to relatively superficial analysis and application – for example, in relation to vessels without nationality (VWON) and counter-drug interdictions at sea. The fourth option is the employment of existing but underutilized LOSC-based or LOSC-leveraged mechanisms and authorizations such as Article 17 of the Vienna Convention on Traffic of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 1988 in new or expanded ways. 2020] Reinforcing the LOSC 133
1 citations
01 Jan 2021
TL;DR: The use of radioisotope techniques in the detection of groundwater sources is one of the latest scientific technologies used and the most commonly used isotopes are those oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen.
Abstract: Water, land, and man, whether by the strategy of organization or content, reflect the general view of life on Earth. The study of water constitutes a logical link between the natural and social environment, thus aiming to provide a deep understanding of the natural environment and its impact on human activities. Water is one of the most common elements among living systems in general. It is an essential component of the internal structure of different cells, which regulate the various processes in living systems. The study of water means to face and study the largest natural system on the surface of the earth, and the hydrological cycle that follows water and assesses its impact on the land and humans. Hydrological information is needed for an efficient and equitable approach to measuring water availability and exploring the nature of problems and conflicts. The hydrological cycle encompasses the largest natural system. In addition, it has recently become increasingly a technological and social system on the surface of the Earth, through human intervention in this cycle. A water budget means trying to track water or trying to calculate the movement of water, such as downpour and streamflow, within a specified area. The use of radioisotope techniques in the detection of groundwater sources is one of the latest scientific technologies used and the most commonly used isotopes are those oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen. This field, called “isotope hydrology,” is growing rapidly and has contributed to the expansion of research in water resources and environmental studies. The introduction of radioisotopes in this area has contributed to the IAEA’s access to a great deal of data and field experiences in the field of water science, as well as the exchange of information on a global scale. In this chapter we will highlight the biological studies on hydrology and the role of nuclear analytical techniques in this field.
1 citations
01 Jan 2023
TL;DR: In this article , the consequences of the use of unmanned ships to compromise maritime security are investigated for the continued applicability and relevance of rules designed to prevent and suppress crime at sea.
Abstract: AbstractMaritime history dates back thousands of years, and one constant throughout this time has been that ships plying the oceans have people aboard. With the appearance of ships without onboard crew on our seascape, this certainty has come to an end. Yet, rules aimed at ensuring maritime security are firmly based on the assumption that perpetrators act from onboard the offender ship and that a human–human encounter between enforcers and suspects at sea takes place, with the possibility for direct interaction and communication as well as an exchange of physical documentation. This chapter probes the consequences that the use of unmanned ships to compromise maritime security entails for the continued applicability and relevance of rules designed to prevent and suppress crime at sea. It concludes that the need for regulatory steps is evident. While a formal amendment of relevant treaties, such as the UNCLOS, the Vienna Convention (1988) and the SUA Conventions (1988, 2005), seems out of sight, the turn to unmanned ships will more likely be accommodated through informal law—at least for the time being.KeywordsAutonomous shipsUnmanned shipsMaritime autonomous surface ships (MASS)Maritime securityLaw enforcementCrimes at seaInternational maritime organization (IMO)