SPIL - Feb 21

We are now in the law of the sea

Codification
-placing all the rules in one treaty
- in this case, the UNCLOS

Unclos is a product of a
compromise

Internal waters
-12 nautical mies from the baseline

Bar Nov 2022

14. A foreign commercial ship was

spotted by the Philippine Coast
Guard dumping
garbage and toxic waste 20 nautical
miles from Nasugbu, Batangas, the
nearest
coastline of the Philippines. The
officers of the ship were arrested
and charged in the
Regional Trial Court (RTC) of
Batangas for violation of
environmental laws of the
Philippines. The officers of the ship
filed a motion to dismiss the case on
the ground
that Philippine courts do not have
territorial jurisdiction over the case
since the vessel
was sailing outside the territorial sea
of the Philippines when the arrest
was made.
Is the ground to dismiss correct?
Explain briefly. (5 points)

No. The contiguous zone may not

extend beyond 24 nautical miles
from the baselines from which the
breadth of the territorial sea is
measured.

SIR: Here involve is environmental

laws. not sanitary laws

Article 33
Contiguous zone
1. In a zone contiguous to its
territorial sea, described as the
contiguous zone, the coastal State
may exercise the control
necessary to:
(a) prevent infringement of its
customs, fiscal, immigration or
sanitary laws and regulations within
its territory or territorial
sea;
(b) punish infringement of the above
laws and regulations
committed within its territory or
territorial sea.

Why should state determine who

enter borders?

A foreign ship stops to fish without

permission 180 nautical miles from
Nasugbu. Is this legal?
No. eez
xxx

Commentary of Prof. Jean

Quenedec on unclos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=1WK4gB3P4Zg

SIR: had analysis of eez

What is the term baseline?

Lets say we have an island coastal

state. a perfect circle. what is the
shape of the baseline?
Also a circle
What about the territorial waters?
Circle
- since it is from the baselines we
mesaure the territorial watters

Also continental shelf and eez

What if equilateral triangel sahpe of

island?
it will be shape of equilaterl triangle
- same for terriorial sea, eez,
continental shelf

What is the term used , lets say it is

a coastal satate, what is conastal
state made up of more than one
isalnd?
Archipelago
you connect the dots for the
outermost limits

imagine

xx

What are waters in between of

archipelago?
Archipelagic waters

Article 49
Legal status of archipelagic waters,
of the air space over
archipelagic waters and of their bed
and subsoil
1. The sovereignty of an
archipelagic State extends to the
waters
enclosed by the archipelagic
baselines drawn in accordance with
article 47, described as archipelagic
waters, regardless of their depth
or distance from the coast.

SIR: waters there could be territorial

waters.

can also be archipelagic waters.

SIR: this includes waters between

the islands
1987 Constitution
ARTICLE I
National Territory
The national territory comprises the
Philippine archipelago, with all
the islands and waters embraced
therein, and all other territories over
which the Philippines has
sovereignty or jurisdiction,
consisting of its
terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial
domains, including its territorial sea,
the
seabed, the subsoil, the insular
shelves, and other submarine
areas.
The waters around, between, and
connecting the islands of the
archipelago, regardless of their
breadth and dimensions, form
part of
the internal waters of the
Philippines.
x

What kind of waters are there stated

in there in between?
- Internal waters
- have full sovereign rights

SIR: COnstitution over treaty

SECTION 5. The Supreme Court

shall have the following powers:
(2) Review, revise, reverse, modify,
or affirm on appeal or certiorari, as
the law or the Rules of Court may
provide, final judgments and orders
of lower courts in:

(a) All cases in which the

constitutionality or validity of any
treaty, international or executive
agreement, law, presidential decree,
proclamation, order, instruction,
ordinance, or regulation is in
question.

SIR: within powers of SC to decide

constitutionality of a treaty

xxx
Sec4
(2) All cases involving the
constitutionality of a treaty,
international or executive
agreement, or law, which shall be
heard by the Supreme Court en
banc, and all other cases which
under the Rules of Court are
required to be heard en banc,
including those involving the
constitutionality, application, or
operation of presidential decrees,
proclamations, orders, instructions,
ordinances, and other regulations,
shall be decided with the
concurrence of a majority of the
Members who actually took part in
the deliberations on the issues in
the case and voted thereon.
SIR: SC will be the one to hear
cases involving the constitutionality
of a treaty, international or executive
agreement

SIR: consti is superior over treaty

xxx
What is nature of waters in between
islands based on consti?
internal waters

SIR: it is different in UNCLOS

WHat we cal there?

Archipelagic waters
So it depends what law you will
based your answer

So just be mindlful

xxxx

What would be sovereign rights in

the archipelagc waters?
Full sovereign rights

Archipelagic waters?
Archipelagic waters, similar to
territorial waters, are subject to
foreign vessels rights to –
archipelagic sea lanes passage
Which part of territorial waters right
of innocesnt passage can be
invoke?
entirety of territorial waters
- upto 12 nautical miles from the
baseline

Who will determine sea lanes?

Archipeagic stae State

PART IV - ARCHIPELAGIC
STATES
Article 53
Right of archipelagic sea lanes
passage
1. An archipelagic State may
designate sea lanes and air routes
thereabove, suitable for the
continuous and expeditious
passage of
foreign ships and aircraft through or
over its archipelagic waters and
the adjacent territorial sea.
xxx
9. In designating or substituting sea
lanes or prescribing or
substituting traffic separation
schemes, an archipelagic State
shall
refer proposals to the competent
international organization with a
view to their adoption. The
organization may adopt only such
sea
lanes and traffic separation
schemes as may be agreed with the
archipelagic State, after which the
archipelagic State may designate,
prescribe or substitute them

SIR: deposit it to International

maritime office

SIR: it is quite similar sa right of

innocent passage.
but RIP has wider scope because it
is in territowal waters.

In Archilegaci sea lanes is limited in

archi wttaers.

- so it is narrower
So if there is maritime power
passing in the PH, and it would like
to pass in archipelagic waters, then
the foreign power will have to yield
to coastal state on where thyey can
pass. tey cant on entire archi water.
it is limited lang sa sea lanes kung
saan sila pwede mag pass.

THe reason for that is, where the

archi waters are found

In contrast, territorial waes are

already on outer portion of the
baselines

but archi waters, they traverse the

territorial waters
So the sovereign rights are greater.
the closer you are to the land, the
greater the sovereign rights. and so,
the maritime powers and all other
foreign vessls passing through archi
waters have to respect the soereign
rights of the coastal state, to
deterime the archi sea lanes

xxx

What is the continental shelf?

The UNCLOS provides that the

continental shelf is the seabed and
subsoil of the submarine areas that
extend beyond the territorial sea
and extends to a distance of 200
nautical miles from the baselines
SIR: 200 nm from baseline, that
correspond to which water?
EEZ

What is diff between eez and

continental shelf?
p77

CONTINENTAL SHELF
Duty to conserve and manage living
resources
No duty

eez
The coastal state is obliged to
manage and conserve the living
resources in the EEZ.

Rights of the coastal state to natural

resources
CS
Relate to mineral and other
nonliving
resources of the seabed
and the subsoil

eez
Have to do with natural
resources of both waters super
adjacent to the seabed and those
of the seabed and the subsoil

Rights of the coastal state to living

resources
cs
Apply only to sedentary species
of such living resources

eez
Do not pertain to sedentary
species

SIR: The waters. The seabeds

basically that is the diff

WHat is sovereign rights of coastal

state over the continenatl shelf?

Article 77
Rights of the coastal State over the
continental shelf
1. The coastal State exercises over
the continental shelf sovereign
rights for the purpose of exploring it
and exploiting its natural
resources.

2. The rights referred to in

paragraph 1 are exclusive in the
sense that
if the coastal State does not explore
the continental shelf or exploit its
natural resources, no one may
undertake these activities without
the
express consent of the coastal
State.
3. The rights of the coastal State
over the continental shelf do not
depend on occupation, effective or
notional, or on any express
proclamation.
4. The natural resources referred to
in this Part consist of the mineral
and other non-living resources of
the seabed and subsoil together
with living organisms belonging to
sedentary species, that is to say,
organisms which, at the harvestable
stage, either are immobile on or
under the seabed or are unable to
move except in constant physical
contact with the seabed or the
subsoil.

SIR: that means, mining.

Only coastal states have sovereign
rights to explore and exploit natiral
resources,