Cruz, Vanessa Evans D.

Public International Law

1. When is passage and innocent passage?

Passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of
the coastal State. Such passage shall take place in conformity with this Convention and
with other rules of international law. (Article 19. Meaning of innocent passage, Part II.
Territorial Sea And Contiguous Zone, UNCLOS)

2. What is the legal basis for the Philippines’ claim over Spratly Islands?

The Philippines claims the Kalayaan Island Group on the assumption that after Japan
renounced its title to the islands in the San Francisco Treaty of Peace of 1951, they
reverted to being terra nullius because title was not explicitly passed to another state.
Therefore, when a Filipino explorer named Tomas Cloma declared ownership over 33
maritime features in the Spratly Islands in 1956, no other country had a valid claim to
them. In 1978, the administration of President Ferdinand Marco issued a decree that
listed three bases for the Philippines’ legitimate rights to the territory: contiguity with the
Philippine archipelago, historical title, and the lapsing of others’ claims. Following the
passage in March 2009 of a legislative act to bring the Philippines’ baselines in
conformity with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Philippines’ claim
to territorial waters around the maritime features of the Kalayaan Island Group appears to
have been restricted to using the low-water baseline, therefore precluding the treatment of
the islands as an archipelagic group.
The Philippines claims that title to Scarborough Shoal passed from Spain to the United
States in 1898 along with all other Spanish maritime features surrounding the Philippines
archipelago. Following independence from the United States, the Philippines inherited
title to the Scarborough Shoal.

3. What is the Continental Shelf Regime?

The continental shelf of a coastal State comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine
areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land
territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles
from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the
outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance.

4. What is included in the freedom of the high seas?

The high seas are open to all States, whether coastal or land-locked. Freedom of the high
seas is exercised under the conditions laid down by this Convention and by other rules of
international law. It comprises, inter alia, both for coastal and land-locked States:

(a) freedom of navigation;

(b) freedom of overflight;

(c) freedom to lay submarine cables and pipelines, subject to Part VI;

(d) freedom to construct artificial islands and other installations permitted under
international law, subject to Part VI;

(e) freedom of fishing, subject to the conditions laid down in section 2;

(f) freedom of scientific research, subject to Parts VI and XIII.

These freedoms shall be exercised by all States with due regard for the interests of other
States in their exercise of the freedom of the high seas, and also with due regard for the
rights under this Convention with respect to activities in the Area. (Articlev87. Freedom
of the high seas, Part VII. High Seas, UNCLOS)
5. What law governs the high seas?

UNCLOS or the United Nation’s Convention on Laws of the Sea was formed to ensure
freedom of shipping navigation at the sea. This allowed ships of one country to move
safely and freely in international waters.

6. What is the doctrine of flags of convenience?

Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's

owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's
owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag state. The term is
often used pejoratively, and although common, the practice is sometimes regarded as
contentious.

Each merchant ship is required by international law to be registered in a registry created

by a country, and a ship is subject to the laws of that country, which are used also if the
ship is involved in a case under admiralty law. A ship's owners may elect to register a
ship in a foreign country so as to avoid the regulations of the owners' country, which
may, for example, have stricter safety standards. They may also select a jurisdiction to
reduce operating costs, avoiding higher taxes in the owners' country and bypassing laws
that protect the wages and working conditions of mariners. The term "flag of
convenience" has been used since the 1950s. A registry which does not have
a nationality or residency requirement for ship registration is often described as an open
registry. 

7. International law:

a. What are the principles of intra and intergenerational equity?

It signifies the rights and interests of the present and future generation regarding
the renewable and non-renewable resources of earth. Intergenerational equity
contains inter-temporal implications in respect of the utilization of the resources,
it tends to a fair utilization of resources by human generations in past, present and
future, it tries to construct a balance of consumption of resources by existing
societies and the future generations. Intra-generational equity is different from
intergenerational equity. It deals with the equality among the same generations as
far as the utilization of resources are concern. It includes fair utilization of global
resources among the human beings of the present generation. The concept of
intra-generational equity provides rights and duties to every person of a single
generation to use and take care of the renewable and non-renewable resources
moderately among the members of the generation.

b. What is precautionary principle?

The precautionary principle states that if a product, an action, or a policy has a

suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, protective
action should be supported before there is complete scientific proof of a risk. In
the absence of scientific consensus, the principle implies that there is a social
responsibility to protect the public from potential harm.