International Protection of the Marine Environment

This chapter will consider how the marine environment is managed and protected at an international level. It will set out a brief history of how governance of the marine environment has developed since the doctrine of Freedom of the Seas was set out by Hugo Grotius in the early 1600s through to the post World War II period where developments and triggers ultimately led to a global Law of the Sea Convention. It will then specifically examine the role of the United Nations, including discussion of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC), which set out to produce a comprehensive legal framework to promote the peaceful use of the oceans and its resource, together with other UN conventions related to the marine environment. The chapter will then examine the role and responsibilities of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its various committees, as the body responsible for establishing a comprehensive framework of legislation for shipping, including protection of the marine environment from pollution from shipping and the safety of vessels, their crews and passengers, at sea. It will then examine the contribution made by a range of Memoranda on Port State Control organisations (MOUs) which have a role in ensuring that vessels comply with the various international conventions established by the IMO and others. These MOUs, the first of which was established in 1982, provide a framework for vessel inspections to ensure that those vessels which fail to adhere to international standards, or are sub-standard in any way, can be monitored. Vessels which are found to be sub-standard can, ultimately, be prevented from operating until all deficiencies are rectified.