30-01-2004, 10:09
I am working on a proposal regarding international sea rights. I would appreciate comments and suggestions. Thank you.
Preliminary proposal:
International Sea Rights:
Realising that modern technology within fishing and off-shore activities have lead to a risk of overfishing and environmental harm.
- Recognizing that this is a threat to biodiversity
- Recognizing that this is a threat to the future sustainability of the fishing industry and culture
- Recignizing that water and fish travel across territorial boundaries and the actions of one country therefore affects all others
We Propose the following:
1: Every nation with a shoreline is granted terrotorial rights to a sea area around their nation
1.1: Said territorial sea area shall be 250 nautical miles in all directions
1.2: The provisions in Article 1.1 shall not find use in the case of uninhabited islands. Instead, the owner of these islands is granted a territorial right of 50 nautical miles only.
1.3: In the case of disputed sea areas that fall within the territorial waters of more than one nation the disputed sea area shall be divided equally among the nations in question.
2: No vessel may enter the terrorial waters of a nation without the consent of said nation, except in the case of emergency rescue operations.
2.1: If the nation entered questions the validity of the rescue operation the nation of the rescuing vessel is obliged to satisfactorily explain to the UN that a rescue mission did in fact take place.
3: No fishing, oil - or mineral mining, sea farming or other exploitation of the sea may take place outside ones territorial area, except by UN permission.
3.1: Said permission can be granted wholly or partially by the UN based on the present threat of biodiversity, the potential harm to the environment, the dependency of a nation upon the sea-based industry or any other factor deemed appropriate by the UN.
3.1B: The UN may at any given time revoke said permission with 1 years notice.
3.1C: If a nation or inhabitants of a nation violate the limitations set forth in the permission the UN may revoke the permission without further notice.
3.2: Expeditions of a purely educational nature, such a research, surveying, searching for historical artifacts and the like may be undertaken in international waters
3.2A: The UN may at any time demand the stop of such expeditions for any reason deemed appropriate by the UN.
3.3: The international waters shall be open to traffic from all nations
4: No UN nation shall purchase or trade in fish, oil, minerals, artifacts or any other product with non-UN nations if they have a reason to believe that these products are the results of exploitation of international waters.
4.1: Failure to comply with Article 4 may lead to a temporary reduction of the territorial sea area of a nation or temporary limitations on the exploitation of said territorial area.
5: Any items of monetary, historical, cultural or other value found within a nations territorial sea area is the property of that nation, with the individual ownership to be decided by the laws of that nation.
5.1: The UN encourages items of cultural value specifically related to another nation to be turned over to that nation but does not require it.
5.1B: Regardless of ownership. items of significant historical or cultural value to another nation may not be destroyed without the consent of the nation in question or the UN.
6: Any item of cultural value specific to an individual country and found in international waters shall be turned over to that nation at a cost not exceding the expenses endured in recovering it plus a salvation fee of 10%.
7: For the purpose of this article, "discoveries" shall be defined as any new knowledge, location, artifact, material or species acquired merely by observation and not through the active participation of the discovering nation (as opposed to invention).
7.1: A discovery made by a nation in their own territorial waters need not be publicised.
7.2: A discovery made in international waters must be publicised.
7.3: A discovery made in the territorial waters of another nation must be revealed to that nation. Either the discovering nation OR the owner of the territorial waters may publicise the discovery but neither are required to do so.
Preliminary proposal:
International Sea Rights:
Realising that modern technology within fishing and off-shore activities have lead to a risk of overfishing and environmental harm.
- Recognizing that this is a threat to biodiversity
- Recognizing that this is a threat to the future sustainability of the fishing industry and culture
- Recignizing that water and fish travel across territorial boundaries and the actions of one country therefore affects all others
We Propose the following:
1: Every nation with a shoreline is granted terrotorial rights to a sea area around their nation
1.1: Said territorial sea area shall be 250 nautical miles in all directions
1.2: The provisions in Article 1.1 shall not find use in the case of uninhabited islands. Instead, the owner of these islands is granted a territorial right of 50 nautical miles only.
1.3: In the case of disputed sea areas that fall within the territorial waters of more than one nation the disputed sea area shall be divided equally among the nations in question.
2: No vessel may enter the terrorial waters of a nation without the consent of said nation, except in the case of emergency rescue operations.
2.1: If the nation entered questions the validity of the rescue operation the nation of the rescuing vessel is obliged to satisfactorily explain to the UN that a rescue mission did in fact take place.
3: No fishing, oil - or mineral mining, sea farming or other exploitation of the sea may take place outside ones territorial area, except by UN permission.
3.1: Said permission can be granted wholly or partially by the UN based on the present threat of biodiversity, the potential harm to the environment, the dependency of a nation upon the sea-based industry or any other factor deemed appropriate by the UN.
3.1B: The UN may at any given time revoke said permission with 1 years notice.
3.1C: If a nation or inhabitants of a nation violate the limitations set forth in the permission the UN may revoke the permission without further notice.
3.2: Expeditions of a purely educational nature, such a research, surveying, searching for historical artifacts and the like may be undertaken in international waters
3.2A: The UN may at any time demand the stop of such expeditions for any reason deemed appropriate by the UN.
3.3: The international waters shall be open to traffic from all nations
4: No UN nation shall purchase or trade in fish, oil, minerals, artifacts or any other product with non-UN nations if they have a reason to believe that these products are the results of exploitation of international waters.
4.1: Failure to comply with Article 4 may lead to a temporary reduction of the territorial sea area of a nation or temporary limitations on the exploitation of said territorial area.
5: Any items of monetary, historical, cultural or other value found within a nations territorial sea area is the property of that nation, with the individual ownership to be decided by the laws of that nation.
5.1: The UN encourages items of cultural value specifically related to another nation to be turned over to that nation but does not require it.
5.1B: Regardless of ownership. items of significant historical or cultural value to another nation may not be destroyed without the consent of the nation in question or the UN.
6: Any item of cultural value specific to an individual country and found in international waters shall be turned over to that nation at a cost not exceding the expenses endured in recovering it plus a salvation fee of 10%.
7: For the purpose of this article, "discoveries" shall be defined as any new knowledge, location, artifact, material or species acquired merely by observation and not through the active participation of the discovering nation (as opposed to invention).
7.1: A discovery made by a nation in their own territorial waters need not be publicised.
7.2: A discovery made in international waters must be publicised.
7.3: A discovery made in the territorial waters of another nation must be revealed to that nation. Either the discovering nation OR the owner of the territorial waters may publicise the discovery but neither are required to do so.