The last quarter century has witnessed vast changes in the governance of ocean space and resources. The keystone instrument in the new legal order is the 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention, an agreement comprehensive in its scope that has provided the framework for further innovations in marine policy and ocean law. Accelerated change in the 1990s included the revision and the going-into-force of the 1982 Convention; and the conclusion of new international agreements on biodiversity, on the management of fishery stocks in international waters, and on marine navigation and safety. There has also been renewed impetus for regionalization of marine management and conservation efforts.
These and other leading issues facing the global community today are the subjects of essays in this volume. The authors, acknowledged authorities in the field, offer fresh and searching reappraisals of how the 'common heritage' concepts in ocean law have been challenged by the contemporary crises in marine uses and ocean environment and resources. How national governments and international organizations have responded to urgent questions of ocean management is a major focus of these studies, and the book also provides important historical perspective on the doctrinal legacy of earlier ocean law. Emerging legal norms and the principles of law, new procedural mandates, the problems of implementation, and recent institutional developments in the international arena all receive attention in this timely and provocative work.