naval power was the deciding factor. A country’s navy protected the ships flying
its flag. This established the principle, which survives today, of flag state
responsibility. However, coastal states also have a claim over ships visiting their
ports or sailing in their coastal waters. Early writers suggested that the distance
controlled by shore based canons should be the criterion for determining these
rights of the coastal states. In a world of rapidly growing commerce, agreeing
the respective rights of the the flag and coastal states has become a major issue.
Can a country ban alcohol on board foreign ships in its territorial waters? Or if
it considers a foreign ship unsafe, has it the right to detain it? The answers to
these questions, in so far as there are answers, are to be found in three conventions
on the law of the sea, referred to as UNCLOS I in 1958, UNCLOS II in 1960
and UNCLOS III in 1973.
In 1958 the United Nations called the first United Nations Law of the Sea
Conference (UNCLOS I). Eighty-six states attended. The aim was to define the