Section 114p. 114

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME I

PART II. TERRITORIAL SEA AND CONTIGUOUS

ZONE

SECTION 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 2. Legal status of the territorial sea, of the air

space over the territorial sea and of its bed and subsoil

1. The sovereignty of a coastal State extends, beyond its

land territory and internal waters and, in the case of an

archipelagic State, its archipelagic waters, to an adjacent

belt of sea, described as the territorial sea.

2. This sovereignty extends to the air space over the

territorial sea as well as to its bed and subsoil.

3. The sovereignty over the territorial sea is exercised

subject

to

this

Convention

and

to

other

rules

of

international law.

SECTION 2. LIMITS OF THE TERRITORIAL SEA

Article 3. Breadth of the territorial sea

Every State has the right to establish the breadth of its

territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles,

measured from baselines determined in accordance with

this Convention.

Article 4. Outer limit of the territorial sea

The outer limit of the territorial sea is the line every point

of which is at a distance from the nearest point of the

baseline equal to the breadth of the territorial sea.

Article 5. Normal baseline

Except where otherwise provided in this Convention, the

normal

baseline

for

measuring

the

breadth

of

the

territorial sea is the low-water line along the coast as

marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the

coastal State.

Article 6. Reefs

In the case of islands situated on atolls or of islands

having fringing reefs, the baseline for measuring the

breadth of the territorial sea is the seaward low-water line

of the reef, as shown by the appropriate symbol on charts

officially recognized by the coastal State.

Article 7. Straight baselines

1. In localities where the coastline is deeply indented and

cut into, or if there is a fringe of islands along the coast in

its immediate vicinity, the method of straight baselines

joining appropriate points may be employed in drawing

the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea

is measured.

2. Where because of the presence of a delta and other

natural conditions the coastline is highly unstable, the

appropriate points may be selected along the furthest

seaward

extent

of

the

low-water

line

and,

notwithstanding subsequent regression of the low-water

line, the straight baselines shall remain effective until

changed by the coastal State in accordance with this

Convention.

3. The drawing of straight baselines must not depart to

any appreciable extent from the general direction of the

coast, and the sea areas lying within the lines must be

sufficiently closely linked to the land domain to be

subject to the regime of internal waters.

4. Straight baselines shall not be drawn to and from

low-tide

elevations,

unless

lighthouses

or

similar

installations which are permanently above sea level have

been built on them or except in instances where the

drawing of baselines to and from such elevations has

received general international recognition.

5. Where the method of straight baselines is applicable

under paragraph 1, account may be taken, in determining

particular baselines, of economic interests peculiar to the

region concerned, the reality and the importance of

which are clearly evidenced by long usage.

6. The system of straight baselines may not be applied by

a State in such a manner as to cut off the territorial sea of

another

State

from

the

high

seas

or

an

exclusive

economic zone.

Article 8. Internal waters

1. Except as provided in Part IV, waters on the landward

side of the baseline of the territorial sea form part of the

internal waters of the State.

2. Where the establishment of a straight baseline in

accordance with the method set forth in article 7 has the

effect of enclosing as internal waters areas which had not

previously been considered as such, a right of innocent

passage as provided in this Convention shall exist in those

waters.

Article 9. Mouths of rivers

If a river flows directly into the sea, the baseline shall be a

straight line across the mouth of the river between points

on the low-water line of its banks.

Article 10. Bays

1. This article relates only to bays the coasts of which

belong to a single State.

2.

For the purposes of this Convention, a bay is a

well-marked indentation whose penetration is in such

proportion to the width of its mouth as to contain

land-locked waters and constitute more than a mere

curvature of the coast. An indentation shall not, however,

be regarded as a bay unless its area is as large as, or larger

than, that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line

drawn across the mouth of that indentation.

3. For the purpose of measurement, the area of an

indentation is that lying between the low-water mark

around the shore of the indentation and a line joining the

low-water mark of its natural entrance points. Where,

because of the presence of islands, an indentation has

more than one mouth, the semi-circle shall be drawn on

a line as long as the sum total of the lengths of the lines

across the different mouths. Islands within an indentation

shall be included as if they were part of the water area of

the indentation.

4. If the distance between the low-water marks of the

natural entrance points of a bay does not exceed 24

nautical miles, a closing line may be drawn between

these two low-water marks, and the waters enclosed

thereby shall be considered as internal waters.

5. Where the distance between the low-water marks of

the natural entrance points of a bay exceeds 24 nautical

miles, a straight baseline of 24 nautical miles shall be

drawn within the bay in such a manner as to enclose the

maximum area of water that is possible with a line of that

length.

6. The foregoing provisions do not apply to so-called

"historic" bays, or in any case where the system of straight

baselines provided for in article 7 is applied.

Article 11. Ports

For the purpose of delimiting the territorial sea, the

outermost permanent harbour works which form an

integral part of the harbour system are regarded as

forming part of the coast. Off-shore installations and

artificial islands shall not be considered as permanent

harbour works.

Article 12. Roadsteads

Roadsteads which are normally used for the loading,

unloading and anchoring of ships, and which would

otherwise be situated wholly or partly outside the outer

limit of the territorial sea, are included in the territorial

sea.

Article 13. Low-tide elevations

1. A low-tide elevation is a naturally formed area of land

which is surrounded by and above water at low tide but

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