Coastal state jurisdiction in the straits under the law of the sea

ABSTRACT Coastal State Jurisdiction in the Straits under the law of the Sea is dealt with in this this thesis comprised of four chapters. First of all, the definition and the importance of the international straits was given. Then the evolution of straits' regime from the late of 19th century, 1930 Conference on Codification of the Law of the Sea, the Corfu Channel Case, UNCLOS I, the workings of the Deep Seabed Committee was studied. 1958 TSCZ Convention requires the non-suspendable innocent passage for the ships passing through the straits which are used for international navigation between one part of the high seas or the territorial sea. In the 1982 UNCLOS, navigation through the international straits was regulated in the Part III. 1982 UNCLOS brought an innovative, bilateral regime for the straits. The coastal state jurisdiction under the right of non-suspendable innocent passage and transit passage was scrutinized. In the Convention the right of transit passage was the backbone for international straits regime. The controversy over customary nature of the right of transit passage was also discussed. Last chapter is dedicated to the Turkish Straits. The unique characteristics of the Straits was stated. The rights of Turkey as a coastal state was discussed and the detailed provisions of the Montreux Convention and the initiative taken by Turkey to improve the safety of navigation in the Turkish Straits and its compatibility with the international law was dealt with in the chapter. VI