Signed | 29 April 1958 |
---|---|
Location | Geneva, Switzerland |
Effective | 30 September 1962 |
Parties | 63 states (at 2013) |
Languages | Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish |
Full text | |
Convention on the High Seas at Wikisource | |
http://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/8_1_1958_high_seas.pdf |
The Convention on the High Seas is an international treaty which codifies the rules of international law relating to the high seas, otherwise known as international waters. The convention was one of four treaties created at the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I). The four treaties were signed on 29 April 1958 and entered into force on 30 September 1962, although in keeping with legal tradition, later accession was permitted.
As of 2013, the treaty had been ratified by 63 states, including most NATO-bloc and Soviet-bloc nations but with the notable exceptions of most of the OPEC and Arab league nations like Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, as well as China, North Korea, and South Korea.
The convention on the High Seas was superseded by the 1982 UNCLOS III, which introduced several new concepts to the law of maritime boundaries including Exclusive Economic Zones.
Provisions
The treaty is divided into 37 articles:
- Article 1: Definition of "high seas".
- Article 2: Statement of principles
- Article 3: Access to the sea for landlocked states
- Articles 4–7: the concept of a Flag State
- Article 8: Warships
- Article 9: Other ships in government service
- Articles 10–12: Safety, rescue
- Article 13: Outlawing transport of slaves at sea
- Articles 14–21: Piracy
- Article 22: Boarding of merchant ships by warships
- Article 23: Hot pursuit, that is, pursuit of a vessel across borders for the purposes of law enforcement
- Articles 24–25: Pollution
- Articles 26–29: Submarine cables and pipelines
- Articles 30–37: legal framework, ratification, accession
References
- "CONVENTION ON THE HIGH SEAS - Membership". Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
- Text of CONVENTION ON THE HIGH SEAS Archived 22 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine (U.N.T.S. No. 6465, vol. 450, pp. 82-103)
- Convention on the High Seas, Done at Geneva on 29 April 1958
- "United Nations Treaty Collection - Chapter XXI: Law of the Sea". Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- 1962 in the environment
- Law of the sea treaties
- United Nations treaties
- Treaties concluded in 1958
- Treaties entered into force in 1962
- Treaties of the Kingdom of Afghanistan
- Treaties of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania
- Treaties of Australia
- Treaties of Austria
- Treaties of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
- Treaties of Belgium
- Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Treaties of the People's Republic of Bulgaria
- Treaties of Burkina Faso
- Treaties of the Kingdom of Cambodia (1953–1970)
- Treaties of the Central African Republic
- Treaties of Costa Rica
- Treaties of Croatia
- Treaties of Cyprus
- Treaties of the Czech Republic
- Treaties of Czechoslovakia
- Treaties of Denmark
- Treaties of the Dominican Republic
- Treaties of Fiji
- Treaties of Finland
- Treaties of East Germany
- Treaties of West Germany
- Treaties of Guatemala
- Treaties of Haiti
- Treaties of the Hungarian People's Republic
- Treaties of Indonesia
- Treaties of Israel
- Treaties of Italy
- Treaties of Jamaica
- Treaties of Japan
- Treaties of Kenya
- Treaties of Latvia
- Treaties of Lesotho
- Treaties of Madagascar
- Treaties of Malawi
- Treaties of Malaysia
- Treaties of Mauritius
- Treaties of Mexico
- Treaties of the Mongolian People's Republic
- Treaties of Montenegro
- Treaties of Nepal
- Treaties of the Netherlands
- Treaties of Nigeria
- Treaties of the Polish People's Republic
- Treaties of the Estado Novo (Portugal)
- Treaties of the Socialist Republic of Romania
- Treaties of the Soviet Union
- Treaties of Senegal
- Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro
- Treaties of Slovakia
- Treaties of Slovenia
- Treaties of the Solomon Islands
- Treaties of Sierra Leone
- Treaties of South Africa
- Treaties of Francoist Spain
- Treaties of Eswatini
- Treaties of Switzerland
- Treaties of Thailand
- Treaties of Tonga
- Treaties of Trinidad and Tobago
- Treaties of Uganda
- Treaties of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
- Treaties of the United Kingdom
- Treaties of the United States
- Treaties of Venezuela
- Treaties of Yugoslavia
- 1958 in Switzerland
- Treaties extended to the Netherlands Antilles
- Treaties extended to Aruba
- Treaties extended to Greenland
- Treaties extended to the Faroe Islands
- Treaties extended to Surinam (Dutch colony)
- Treaties extended to West Berlin