Module LAW47415: Law of the Sea

Department: Law

LAW47415: Law of the Sea

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To develop an understanding of the law of the sea. The course considers the law of the sea as both a specialist regime within international law and as a topic of general international law. The course aims to provide both knowledge of the specific area of the law of the sea, and a greater understanding of international law by focusing on this specialised regime.

Content

• A selection of topics in the following areas will run in each year:
• Origins of the law of the sea;
• Baselines;
• Internal waters;
• The territorial sea;
• Straits;
• Archipelagic waters;
• The continental shelf;
• The exclusive economic zone;
• The delimitation of maritime boundaries;
• The high seas;
• The International Seabed;
• Navigation;
• International fisheries;
• The marine environment;
• Pollution at sea;
• Marine Spatial Planning;
• Biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will have:
• A thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles of the law of the sea;
• A demonstrably in-depth knowledge of certain key aspects of the law of the sea and its relationship with wider issues in international law;
• A familiarity with the contemporary issues in the law of the sea, and its development.

• Students should be able to:
• Interpret and evaluate critically relevant documents within the law of the sea and identify the theoretical and critical approaches informing their interpretation;
• Appreciate how law interacts with the physical world, in terms of boundaries, delimitation, resource management and dispute settlement;
• Identify key issues within the law of the sea, and international law more generally, such as the interaction of treaty and customary law, the interaction of law and space, and the regulation of people beyond the land.

• Students should be able to:
• Demonstrate an ability to understand and analyse critically a wide variety of complex issues, drawing on a variety of materials;
• Develop expertise in conducting legal-research using materials from a variety of national and international sources;
• Describe accurately and coherently the arguments and analysis of other commentators;
• Write in a clear and structured way and to put forward issues in a scholarly manner;
• Demonstrate an ability to explore creatively complex issues in writing.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The course will be taught in two parts, each starting with a lecture and followed by three seminars.
• The assessment is by assessed presentation on a range of current issues in the law of the sea. This is one assessment, consisting of both the written submission of a presentation outline and materials and then a 15 minute presentation with questions. There will be opportunities to practice presenting throughout the course.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One 1,000 word essay

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.