ABSTRACT

RIGHT OF INNOCENT PASSAGE

The seas have always proved an extraordinary resource for the limited number of
communities having access to them. Although in modem times the seas have been
considered a resource available for the use of all nations and the exclusive property of
none, the recent history of the law of the sea continues to reflect conflicts between
states seeking un- hampered navigation and utilization of resources and other states
seeking exclusive control over adjacent seas.

As it is long recognized that States exercise authority over coastal waters that are
effectively controlled from land, the original theory of the territorial sea regarded
it as the ‘property’ of the coastal State: territorial sea was assimilated with coastal
land territory. As a consequence, the coastal State was free to exclude from its
territorial sea nationals and vessels of any other State. As time passed, such a
claim was replaced by a jurisdictional theory, not speaking of property rights but
providing the coastal State with various powers to be exercised within its
territorial sea. This functional approach contained the regime of: foreign vessels
were granted the right to pass through a coastal State’s territorial sea provided the
passage remained ‘ innocent ’.

This project attempts to explain the need & evolution of the concept of innocent
passage & how well it is incorporated in the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea), 1982 & how does it help in striking a balance between the
interests of coastal states and maritime states through the regimes of innocent passage
and transit passage.