13
votes
How much ocean does a person with a beachhouse own and what can he do with it?
California has a particular set of regulations addressing coastal land ownership, detailed at https://www.coastal.ca.gov/laws/
In short, everything below the high-tide mark along the coast is public ...
- 554
13
votes
On the legality of arming yachts and other recreational craft at sea
Gun control laws
The moment you enter the 12 nautical miles zone of a country, you need to abide by its weapon laws. Most functioning large-caliber and fully-automatic weapons are not allowed in ...
- 43.2k
9
votes
Accepted
Floating drug laboratory in international waters
The relevant law is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which both the Philippines and China are signatories. With very few exceptions, the only country with jurisdiction over a ...
- 6,437
9
votes
Accepted
Can just anybody sign the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea?
Acts such as signing a treaty are done under the auspices of the treaty "depositary", in this case the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UNCLOS Article 319). The depositary's ...
- 7,455
8
votes
When does US state law apply on the high seas?
California courts have held that state's labor law applicable to mariners on a vessel based in California, and mostly working in local waters, even when the ship's voyage took it into federal or ...
- 81
8
votes
Accepted
On the legality of seizing narco yachts
The Navy is allowed to board and detain a ship under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Article 108, which tasks all states to fight narcotics trafficking. This article gives the ...
- 43.2k
8
votes
Accepted
Does the Order of Malta have the right to register ships?
Flying a flag indicates your country.
If you fly any naval ensign or flag at the stern or topmast, you declare "I am part of this nation, my ship is to be treated as territory of this country&...
- 43.2k
7
votes
What is the exact meaning of this Article about loss of liability limitation?
Maritime law has a lot of weird rules, but the normal rule of statutory construction is that scienter requirements -- intent, knowledge, recklessness, etc. -- apply to everything that comes after them,...
- 61.6k
7
votes
How much ocean does a person with a beachhouse own and what can he do with it?
Ownership of coastal land is controlled by the California Civil Code, which reserves land below the mean high water mark to the state:
Section 670:
[670.] Section Six Hundred and Seventy. The ...
- 39.1k
7
votes
Accepted
If land I own sinks into the ocean, do I own the corresponding part of the ocean?
In england-and-wales and scotland, no.
At common law, with a hefty influence from Roman writers such as Gaius who tackled the topic, gradual changes in a natural boundary are distinguished from others....
- 476
6
votes
Floating drug laboratory in international waters
International waters is not a law-free zone. If your ship is flying the flag of any country, that country's laws apply aboard the ship, and that country may board you or authorize another country to ...
- 24.2k
6
votes
Accepted
On the legality of stopping a foreign ship and seizing goods
The United Nations Security Council made Resolution 2216 on 14 April 2015, and reaffirmed the key provisions recently in Resolution 2675 of 15 February 2023 (see the reference in paragraph 1). ...
- 7,455
5
votes
What was the basis in international law for the seizure of the Iranian tanker Grace 1?
The passage is alleged to be not “innocent”
From Article 19:
Passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State.
The article enumerates a ...
- 219k
5
votes
In the 1920s, who would the US government hire to investigate damaged and missing Navy ships?
The US Navy investigates their missing ships themselves.
This might belong to history, but lost ships have real world examples. For a missing navy ship, there's a perfect example: USS Cyclops was US ...
- 43.2k
5
votes
Was being left in the Pacific in a lifeboat considered attempted murder in 1872?
It depends upon the intent and knowledge of the perpetrators.
If there is knowledge that this is almost sure to cause their death, or an intent to cause their death, or depraved indifference to human ...
- 231k
4
votes
Accepted
What are the regulations around autonomous/unmanned boats?
Assuming we're talking about U.S. jurisdiction due to your location, some aspects of your question are addressed in this Professional Marine article from June-July 2018, which generally notes that ...
- 554
4
votes
What is the exact meaning of this Article about loss of liability limitation?
"Recklessly", which is an adverb, must modify a verb. It can only be sensibly construed as modifying "committed" – the action is committed recklessly. The clause "with the ...
- 216k
4
votes
Is something located outside of territorial waters protected by an international law?
Whatever else it may be, it isn't piracy. Piracy is covered by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Part VII, and Article 101 defines it:
Piracy consists of any of the following acts:
(a) any ...
- 30.1k
4
votes
Accepted
Can someone by prosecuted if they commit a crime outside of all jurisdictions?
Can someone by prosecuted if they commit a crime outside of all jurisdictions?
This is a tautological question. If they can be prosecuted, then they are by definition subject to the jurisdiction they ...
- 2,292
4
votes
What was the basis in international law for the seizure of the Iranian tanker Grace 1?
This is a copy of my answer to a similar question on politics.se, which I only became
aware of after posting this question. My answer there is itself derived from material dug up in another answer, ...
4
votes
Can someone by prosecuted if they commit a crime outside of all jurisdictions?
Yes
More exactly, nations will not regard places outside of their physical limits as outside of their jurisdictions.
Overview
Traditionally, a nation has regarded any ship flying its flag as under its ...
- 114k
4
votes
In the 1920s, who would the US government hire to investigate damaged and missing Navy ships?
Navies self-insure their warships
For two reasons:
They are owned by governments who have deep pockets,
They do hella-dangerous things that no insurance company will cover.
When a warship is lost or ...
- 219k
4
votes
Accepted
Can a country choose to only partially ratify a treaty?
Broadly speaking: "yes, but..."
Such declarations are called 'reservations'.
A reservation is a declaration by a state made upon signing or ratifying a treaty that the state reserves the ...
- 18.2k
3
votes
Can someone by prosecuted if they commit a crime outside of all jurisdictions?
The thing is: there is nothing to prevent a sovereign state from making laws whatever it wishes (subject to international agreements/treaties/conventions it signed, if any, and the extent it is ...
- 28.1k
3
votes
What happens if two EEZs overlap?
As pointed out in a comment, exclusive zones cannot overlap by definition, given the meaning of "exclusive."
Your question is answered in the Wikipedia article you link to:
Generally, a ...
- 39.1k
3
votes
How did the "Wise Honest" end up at the US (and not Indonesian) custody?
Inter-country law enforcement is quite common.
Based on the links you provided, the US requested the Indonesians to detain the ship and then transfer it to their control for violation of US law. The ...
- 219k
3
votes
How much ocean does a person with a beachhouse own and what can he do with it?
Although this speaks more to groundwater, I think it would apply.
http://aic.ucdavis.edu/events/outlook05/Sawyer_primer.pdf
It says, in part:
Regardless of the nature of the water right in ...
- 2,839
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible