Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

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Key definition

Law definition

What does Law mean? In legal practice, Law describes the body of binding rules governing parties’ rights and obligations in the relevant jurisdiction(s). It is not a single statutory or case-law definition; in contracts it is a descriptive catch‑all used to capture all sources of applicable law. Law includes: (a) any primary or secondary legislation (including regulations, statutory instruments and byelaws) in force from time to time that applies to a party or to the place the Services are provided; (b) the common law and, where applicable, equity; (c) any binding court order, judgment or decree; (d) any applicable industry code,

UNCLOS explained: history, maritime zones, high seas freedoms, institutions, dispute settlement, environmental duties, implementing agreements and the new BBNJ ‘High Seas Treaty’, with notes on domestic implementation

Published by a LexisNexis Environment expert

Practice notes

United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

Parties: 168

Adopted: 10 December 1982

Entry into force: 16 November 1994

Full text: United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Subject [Catchwords]: International law of the sea; UNCLOS I and UNCLOS II

At its inaugural session in 1949, the International Law commission (ILC) chose to pursue the codification and progressive development of multiple elements of the law of the sea. By 1956, the ILC had completed its final draft articles with accompanying commentary, which were circulated ahead of the first Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I), convened in Geneva over nine weeks in 1958. UNCLOS I culminated in the four Geneva Conventions adopted on 29 April 1958:

Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone
Convention on the High Seas
Convention on the Continental Shelf
Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas

The second Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS II) met again two years later, in 1960, but then could not agree on the breadth of the Territorial Sea or on fisheries limits, and made no further contribution to the Law of the Sea...

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Nicola Canty

9 Hazel Tree Chambers

Nicola is an environmental lawyer specialising in marine, energy and public law. She has advised on judicial reviews, public inquiries and a wide range of regulatory and planning matters. She has broad experience of advising on issues relating to the marine environment, including licensing, planning, regulation and enforcement, and conservation matters. Nicola was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 2006. She has a dual-capacity practice (i.e. operating as both an employed and a self-employed barrister), and has broad experience of working at both the self-employed Bar in Chambers and the employed Bar as a part of a law firm, at the national energy regulator Ofgem advising on renewable energy schemes, and is currently at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero advising on nationally significant infrastructure planning. Nicola provided the update for the titles on the Foreshore, and on...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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