The Autonomy of Maritime Spaces - (Publications on Ocean Development) by Daniela Arrese (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book proposes a new paradigm for coastal states' maritime entitlements which no longer portrays them as private property appurtenances of states' land territories, but as autonomous maritime spaces that are independent from the land and qualify themselves as state territory.

Book Synopsis

The law of the sea is dominated by a private property paradigm that portrays coastal states' maritime spaces as mere appurtenances of a state's land territory. This paradigm underlies a prominent interpretation of UNCLOS, which holds that maritime spaces are unstable and contingent upon the movements of the coast. This view, however, poses serious threats to the legal order of the oceans, especially in the face of climate change-induced sea-level rise. By contrast, this book advances that maritime spaces can be conceived as autonomous, that is, independent of the land's physical changes and as part of the coastal state's territory.