3.2 Providing a specific system for duties and right in maritime zones
Closely linked to UNCLOS’ approach to, so to speak, “once and for all” provide a settled legal system for “cutting the cake” by defining maritime zones, are the issues of balancing interests and providing a clearer system concerning duties and rights connected to the specific maritime zone at hand. The main approach seems to be that on the one hand, the zonal system includes some specific rights and duties for the coastal states. On the other hand, it balances those coastal states’ interests with the interests of others, for example, the interest in freely navigating the oceans (see more on this below under 3.3.) or in participating in the use and exploration of the oceans and its resources.
The system concerning the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) illustrates this point rather well. On the one hand, the introduction of the EEZ into UNCLOS is a clear step towards granting coastal states substantial rights to resources. On the other hand, the system provided by UNCLOS does not include an acceptance of further sovereignty within the relevant maritime zone. The rights of the coastal states are only considered with a view to resources, nothing else. Thus, the rules of the high sea are applicable to the extent that they do not collide with the specific regime of the EEZ.(1) Art. 58 (2) UNCLOS, see also Andreone, “The Exclusive Economic Zone”, in Rothwell et.al, (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Law of the Sea, 2015, p. 165 f.
While providing such a legal regime for the specific parts of the oceans, by balancing different interests, the question remains as to how detailed the regime provided by UNCLOS really is. UNCLOS often uses general terminology when referring to general principles, for example in Art. 56 (2), which states that the coastal State “shall have due regard to the rights and duties of other States and shall act in a manner compatible with the provisions of this Convention” when exercising its rights and duties in the EEZ.
The potential difficulties in balancing colliding interests within the EEZ is also raised in Article 59 of UNCLOS, which intends to provide a “basis for the resolution of conflicts regarding the attribution of rights and jurisdiction in the exclusive economic zone”, by stating that emerging conflicts “should be resolved on the basis of equity and in light of all the relevant circumstances, taking into account the respective importance of the interests involved to the parties as well as to the international community as a whole.”. However, this provision does not really provide a solution; it instead merely summarises the issues at stake, which are to be counter-balanced. Due to this, Article 59 is described as “one of the most controversial” provisions in the UNCLOS.(2) Andreone, “The Exclusive Economic Zone”, in Rothwell et.al, (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Law of the Sea, 2015, p. 166.