Article 86
Application of the provisions of this Part
The provisions of this Part apply to all parts of the sea that are not
included in the exclusive economic zone, in the territorial sea or in the
internal waters of a State, or in the archipelagic waters of an
archipelagic State. This article does not entail any abridgement of the
freedoms enjoyed by all States in the exclusive economic zone in accordance
with article 58.
Article 87
Freedom of the high seas
1. The high seas are open to all States, whether coastal or land-locked.
Freedom of the high seas is exercised under the conditions laid down by
this Convention and by other rules of international law. It comprises,
inter alia, both for coastal and land-locked States:
(a) freedom of navigation;
(b) freedom of overflight;
(c) freedom to lay submarine cables and pipelines, subject to Part VI;
(d) freedom to construct artificial islands and other installations
permitted under international law, subject to Part VI;
(e) freedom of fishing, subject to the conditions laid down in section 2;
(f) freedom of scientific research, subject to Parts VI and XIII.
2. These freedoms shall be exercised by all States with due regard for the
interests of other States in their exercise of the freedom of the high
seas, and also with due regard for the rights under this Convention with
respect to activities in the Area.
Article 88
Reservation of the high seas for peaceful purposes
The high seas shall be reserved for peaceful purposes.
Article 89
Invalidity of claims of sovereignty over the high seas
No State may validly purport to subject any part of the high seas to its
sovereignty.
Article 90
Right of navigation
Every State, whether coastal or land-locked, has the right to sail ships
flying its flag on the high seas.
Article 91
Nationality of ships
1. Every State shall fix the conditions for the grant of its nationality to
ships, for the registration of ships in its territory, and for the right to
ny its flag. Ships have the nationality of the State whose flag they are
entitled to fly. There must exist a genuine link between the State and the
ship.
2. Every State shall issue to ships to which it has granted the right to ny
its flag documents to that effect.
Article 92
Status of ships
1. Ships shall sail under the flag of one State only and, save in
exceptional cases expressly provided for in international treaties or in
this Convention, shall be subject to its exclusive jurisdiction on the high
seas. A ship may not change its flag during a voyage or while in a port of
call, save in the case of a real transfer of ownership or change of
registry.
2. A ship which sails under the flags of two or more States, using them
according to convenience, may not claim any of the nationalities in
question with respect to any other State, and may be assimilated to a ship
without nationality.
Article 93
Ships flying the flag of the United Nations, its specialized
agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency
The preceding articles do not prejudice the question of ships employed on
the official service of the United Nations, its specialized agencies or the
International Atomic Energy Agency, flying the flag of the organization.
Article 94
Duties of the flag State
1. Every State shall effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in
administrative, technical and social matters over ships flying its flag.
2. In particular every State shall:
(a) maintain a register of ships containing the names and particulars of
ships flying its flag, except those which are excluded from generally
accepted international regulations on account of their small size;
and
(b) assume jurisdiction under its internal law over each ship flying its
nag and its master, officers and crew in respect of administrative,
technical and social matters concerning the ship.
3. Every State shall take such measures for ships flying its flag as are
necessary to ensure safety at sea with regard, inter alia, to:
(a) the construction, equipment and seaworthiness of ships;
(b) the manning of ships, labour conditions and the training of crews,
taking into account the applicable international instruments;
(c) the use of signals, the maintenance of communications and the
prevention of collisions.
4. Such measures shall include those necessary to ensure:
(a) that each ship, before registration and thereafter at appropriate
intervals, is surveyed by a qualified surveyor of ships, and has on
board such charts, nautical publications and navigational equipment
and instruments as are appropriate for the safe navigation of the
ship;
(b) that each ship is in the charge of a master and officers who possess
appropriate qualifications, in particular in seamanship, navigation,
communications and marine engineering, and that the crew is
appropriate in qualification and numbers for the type, size,
machinery and equipment of the ship;
(c) that the master, officers and, to the extent appropriate, the crew
are fully conversant with and required to observe the applicable
international regulations concerning the safety of life at sea, the
prevention of collisions, the prevention, reduction and control of
marine pollution, and the maintenance of communications by radio.
5. In taking the measures called for in paragraphs 3 and 4 each State is
required to conform to generally accepted international regulations,
procedures and practices and to take any steps which may be necessary to
secure their observance.
6. A State which has clear grounds to believe that proper jurisdiction and
control with respect to a ship have not been exercised may report the facts
to the flag State. Upon receiving such a report, the flag State shall
investigate the matter and, if appropriate, take any action necessary to
remedy the situation.
7. Each State shall cause an inquiry to be held by or before a suitably
qualified person or persons into every marine casualty or incident of
navigation on the high seas involving a ship flying its flag and causing
loss of life or serious injury to nationals of another State or serious
damage to ships or installations of another State or to the marine
environment. The flag State and the other State shall co-operate in the
conduct of any inquiry held by that other State into any such marine
casualty or incident of navigation.
Article 95
Immunity of warships on the high seas
Warships on the high seas have complete immunity from the jurisdiction of
any State other than the flag State.
Article 96
Immunity of ships used only on
government non-commercial service
Ships owned or operated by a State and used only on government
non-commercial service shall, on the high seas, have complete immunity from
the jurisdiction of any State other than the flag State.
Article 97
Penal jurisdiction in matters of collision
or any other incident of navigation
1. In the event of a collision or any other incident of navigation
concerning a ship on the high seas, involving the penal or disciplinary
responsibility of the master or of any other person in the service of the
ship, no penal or disciplinary proceedings may be instituted against such
person except before the judicial or administrative authorities either of
the flag State or of the State of which such person is a national.
2. In disciplinary matters, the State which has issued a master's
certificate or a certificate of competence or licence shall alone be
competent, after due legal process, to pronounce the withdrawal of such
certificates, even if the holder is not a national of the State which
issued them.
3. No arrest or detention of the ship, even as a measure of investigation,
shall be ordered by any authorities other than those of the flag State.
Article 98
Duty to render assistance
1. Every State shall require the master of a ship flying its flag, in so
far as he can do so without serious danger to the ship, the crew or the
passengers:
(a) to render assistance to any person found at sea in danger of being
lost;
(b) to proceed with all possible speed to the rescue of persons in
distress, if informed of their need of assistance, in so far as such
action may reasonably be expected of him;
(c) after a collision, to render assistance to the other ship, its crew
and its passengers and, where possible, to inform the other ship of
the name of his own ship, its port of registry and the nearest port
at which it will call.
2. Every coastal State shall promote the establishment, operation and
maintenance of an adequate and effective search and rescue service
regarding safety on and over the sea and, where circumstances so require,
by way of mutual regional arrangements co-operate with neighbouring States
for this purpose.
Article 99
Prohibition of the transport of slaves
Every State shall take effective measures to prevent and punish the
transport of slaves in ships authorized to ny its flag and to prevent the
unlawful use of its flag for that purpose. Any slave taking refuge on board
any ship, whatever its flag, shall ipso facto be free.
Article 100
Duty to co-operate in the repression of piracy
All States shall co-operate to the fullest possible extent in the
repression of piracy on the high seas or in any other place outside the
jurisdiction of any State.
Article 101
Definition of piracy
Piracy consists of any of the following acts:
(a) any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation,
committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private
ship or a private aircraft, and directed:
(i) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against
persons or property on board such ship or aircraft;
(ii) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside
the jurisdiction of any State;
(b) any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of
an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or
aircraft;
(c) any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described
in subparagraph (a) or (b).
Article 102
Piracy by a warship, government ship or government aircraft
whose crew has mutinied
The acts of piracy, as defined in article 101, committed by a warship,
government ship or government aircraft whose crew has mutinied and taken
control of the ship or aircraft are assimilated to acts committed by a
private ship or aircraft.
Article 103
Definition of a pirate ship or aircraft
A ship or aircraft is considered a pirate ship or aircraft if it is
intended by the persons in dominant control to be used for the purpose of
committing one of the acts referred to in article 101. The same applies if
the ship or aircraft has been used to commit any such act, so long as it
remains under the control of the persons guilty of that act.
Article 104
Retention or loss of the nationality of a pirate ship or aircraft
A ship or aircraft may retain its nationality although it has become a
pirate ship or aircraft. The retention or loss of nationality is determined
by the law of the State from which such nationality was derived.
Article 105
Seizure of a pirate ship or aircraft
On the high seas, or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any
State, every State may seize a pirate ship or aircraft, or a ship or
aircraft taken by piracy and under the control of pirates, and arrest the
persons and seize the property on board. The courts of the State which
carried out the seizure may decide upon the penalties to be imposed, and
may also determine the action to be taken with regard to the ships,
aircraft or property, subject to the rights of third parties acting in good
faith.
Article 106
Liability for seizure without adequate grounds
Where the seizure of a ship or aircraft on suspicion of piracy has been
effected without adequate grounds, the State making the seizure shall be
liable to the State the nationality of which is possessed by the ship or
aircraft for any loss or damage caused by the seizure.
Article 107
Ships and aircraft which are entitled to seize on account of piracy
A seizure on account of piracy may be carried out only by warships or
military aircraft, or other ships or aircraft clearly marked and
identifiable as being on government service and authorized to that effect.
Article 108
Illicit traffic in narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances
1. All States shall co-operate in the suppression of illicit traffic in
narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances engaged in by ships on the high
seas contrary to international conventions.
2. Any State which has reasonable grounds for believing that a ship flying
its flag is engaged in illicit traffic in narcotic drugs or psychotropic
substances may request the co-operation of other States to suppress such
traffic.
Article 109
Unauthorized broadcasting from the high seas
1. All States shall co-operate in the suppression of unauthorized
broadcasting from the high seas.
2. For the purposes of this Convention, "unauthorized broadcasting" means
the transmission of sound radio or television broadcasts from a ship or
installation on the high seas intended for reception by the general public
contrary to international regulations, but excluding the transmission of
distress calls.
3. Any person engaged in unauthorized broadcasting may be prosecuted before
the court of:
(a) the flag State of the ship;
(b) the State of registry of the installation;
(c) the State of which the person is a national;
(d) any State where the transmissions can be received; or
(e) any State where authorized radio communication is suffering
interference.
4. On the high seas, a State having jurisdiction in accordance with
paragraph 3 may, in conformity with article 110, arrest any person or ship
engaged in unauthorized broadcasting and seize the broadcasting apparatus.
Article 110
Right of visit
1. Except where acts of interference derive from powers conferred by
treaty, a warship which encounters on the high seas a foreign ship, other
than a ship entitled to complete immunity in accordance with articles 95
and 96, is not justified in boarding it unless there is reasonable ground
for suspecting that:
(a) the ship is engaged in piracy;
(b) the ship is engaged in the slave trade;
(c) the ship is engaged in unauthorized broadcasting and the flag State
of the warship has jurisdiction under article 109;
(d) the ship is without nationality; or
(e) though flying a foreign flag or refusing to show its flag, the ship
is, in reality, of the same nationality as the warship.
2. In the cases provided for in paragraph 1, the warship may proceed to
verify the ship's right to fly its flag. To this end, it may send a boat
under the command of an officer to the suspected ship. If suspicion remains
after the documents have been checked, it may proceed to a further
examination on board the ship, which must be carried out with all possible
consideration.
3. If the suspicions prove to be unfounded, and provided that the ship
boarded has not committed any act justifying them, it shall be compensated
for any loss or damage that may have been sustained.
4. These provisions apply mutatis mutandis to military aircraft.
5. These provisions also apply to any other duly authorized ships or
aircraft clearly marked and identifiable as being on government service.
Article 111
Right of hot pursuit
1. The hot pursuit of a foreign ship may be undertaken when the competent
authorities of the coastal State have good reason to believe that the ship
has violated the laws and regulations of that State. Such pursuit must be
commenced when the foreign ship or one of its boats is within the internal
waters, the archipelagic waters, the territorial sea or the contiguous zone
of the pursuing State, and may only be continued outside the territorial
sea or the contiguous zone if the pursuit has not been interrupted. It is
not necessary that, at the time when the foreign ship within the
territorial sea or the contiguous zone receives the order to stop, the ship
giving the order should likewise be within the territorial sea or the
contiguous zone. If the foreign ship is within a contiguous zone, as
defined in article 33, the pursuit may only be undertaken if there has been
a violation of the rights for the protection of which the zone was
established.
2. The right of hot pursuit shall apply mutatis mutandis to violations in
the exclusive economic zone or on the continental shelf, including safety
zones around continental shelf installations, of the laws and regulations
of the coastal State applicable in accordance with this Convention to the
exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf, including such safety
zones.
3. The right of hot pursuit ceases as soon as the ship pursued enters the
territorial sea of its own State or of a third State.
4. Hot pursuit is not deemed to have begun unless the pursuing ship has
satisfied itself by such practicable means as may be available that the
ship pursued or one of its boats or other craft working as a team and using
the ship pursued as a mother ship is within the limits of the territorial
sea, or, as the case may be, within the contiguous zone or the exclusive
economic zone or above the continental shelf. The pursuit may only be
commenced after a visual or auditory signal to stop has been given at a
distance which enables it to be seen or heard by the foreign ship.
5. The right of hot pursuit may be exercised only by warships or military
aircraft, or other ships or aircraft clearly marked and identifiable as
being on government service and authorized to that effect.
6. Where hot pursuit is effected by an aircraft:
(a) the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis,
(b) the aircraft giving the order to stop must itself actively pursue the
ship until a ship or another aircraft of the coastal State, summoned
by the aircraft, arrives to take over the pursuit, unless the
aircraft is itself able to arrest the ship. It does not suffice to
justify an arrest outside the territorial sea that the ship was
merely sighted by the aircraft as an offender or suspected offender,
if it was not both ordered to stop and pursued by the aircraft itself
or other aircraft or ships which continue the pursuit without
interruption.
7. The release of a ship arrested within the jurisdiction of a State and
escorted to a port of that State for the purposes of an inquiry before the
competent authorities may not be claimed solely on the ground that the
ship, in the course of its voyage, was escorted across a portion of the
exclusive economic zone or the high seas, if the circumstances rendered
this necessary.
8. Where a ship has been stopped or arrested outside the territorial sea in
circumstances which do not justify the exercise of the right of hot
pursuit, it shall be compensated for any loss or damage that may have been
thereby sustained.
Article 112
Right to lay submarine cables and pipelines
1. All States are entitled to lay submarine cables and pipelines on the bed
of the high seas beyond the continental shelf.
2. Article 79, paragraph 5, applies to such cables and pipelines.
Article 113
Breaking or injury of a submarine cable or pipeline
Every State shall adopt the laws and regulations necessary to provide that
the breaking or injury by a ship flying its flag or by a person subject to
its jurisdiction of a submarine cable beneath the high seas done wilfully
or through culpable negligence, in such a manner as to be liable to
interrupt or obstruct telegraphic or telephonic communications, and
similarly the breaking or injury of a submarine pipeline or high-voltage
power cable, shall be a punishable offence. This provision shall apply also
to conduct calculated or likely to result in such breaking or injury.
However, it shall not apply to any break or injury caused by persons who
acted merely with the legitimate object of saving their lives or their
ships, after having taken all necessary precautions to avoid such break or
injury .
Article 114
Breaking or injury by owners of a submarine cable or
pipeline of another submarine cable or pipeline
Every State shall adopt the laws and regulations necessary to provide
that, if persons subject to its jurisdiction who are the owners of a
submarine cable or pipeline beneath the high seas, in laying or repairing
that cable or pipeline, cause a break in or injury to another cable or
pipeline, they shall bear the cost of the repairs.
Article 115
Indemnity for loss incurred in avoiding injury to a
submarine cable or pipeline
Every State shall adopt the laws and regulations necessary to ensure that
the owners of ships who can prove that they have sacrificed an anchor, a
net or any other fishing gear, in order to avoid injuring a submarine cable
or pipeline, shall be indemnified by the owner of the cable or pipeline,
provided that the owner of the ship has taken all reasonable precautionary
measures beforehand.
SECTION 2. CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF
THE LIVING RESOURCES OF THE HIGH SEAS
Article 116
Right to fish on the high seas
All States have the right for their nationals to engage in fishing on the
high seas subject to:
(a) their treaty obligations;
(b) the rights and duties as well as the interests of coastal States
provided for, inter alia, in article 63, paragraph 2, and articles 64
to 67; and
(c) the provisions of this section.
Article 117
Duty of States to adopt with respect to their nationals measures
for the conservation of the living resources of the high seas
All States have the duty to take, or to co-operate with other States in
taking, such measures for their respective nationals as may be necessary
for the conservation of the living resources of the high seas.
Article 118
Co-operation of States in the conservation and management of
living resources
States shall co-operate with each other in the conservation and management
of living resources in the areas of the high seas. States whose nationals
exploit identical living resources, or different living resources in the
same area, shall enter into negotiations with a view to taking the measures
necessary for the conservation of the living resources concerned. They
shall, as appropriate, cooperate to establish subregional or regional
fisheries organizations to this end.
Article 119
Conservation of the living resources of the high seas
1. In determining the allowable catch and establishing other conservation
measures for the living resources in the high seas, States shall:
(a) take measures which are designed, on the best scientific evidence
available to the States concerned, to maintain or restore populations
of harvested species at levels which can produce the maximum
sustainable yield, as qualified by relevant environmental and
economic factors, including the special requirements of developing
States, and taking into account fishing patterns, the interdependence
of stocks and any generally recommended international minimum
standards, whether subregional, regional or global;
(b) take into consideration the effects on species associated with or
dependent upon harvested species with a view to maintaining or
restoring populations of such associated or dependent species above
levels at which their reproduction may become seriously threatened.
2. Available scientific information, catch and fishing effort statistics,
and other data relevant to the conservation of fish stocks shall be
contributed and exchanged on a regular basis through competent
international organizations, whether subregional, regional or global, where
appropriate and with participation by all States concerned.
3. States concerned shall ensure that conservation measures and their
implementation do not discriminate in form or in fact against the fishermen
of any State.
Article 120
Marine mammals
Article 65 also applies to the conservation and management of marine
mammals in the high seas.
PART VIII
REGIME OF ISLANDS
Article 121
Regime of islands
1. An island is a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which
is above water at high tide.
2. Except as provided for in paragraph 3, the territorial sea, the
contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of
an island are determined in accordance with the provisions of this
Convention applicable to other land territory.
3. Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their
own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.
PART IX
ENCLOSED OR SEMI-ENCLOSED SEAS
Article 122
Definition
For the purposes of this Convention, "enclosed or semi-enclosed sea" means
a gulf, basin or sea surrounded by two or more States and connected to
another sea or the ocean by a narrow outlet or consisting entirely or
primarily of the territorial seas and exclusive economic zones of two or
more coastal States.
Article 123
Co-operation of States bordering enclosed
or semi-enclosed seas
States bordering an enclosed or semi-enclosed sea should co-operate with
each other in the exercise of their rights and in the performance of their
duties under this Convention. To this end they shall endeavour, directly or
through an appropriate regional organization:
(a) to co-ordinate the management, conservation, exploration and
exploitation of the living resources of the sea;
(b) to co-ordinate the implementation of their rights and duties with
respect to the protection and preservation of the marine environment;
(c) to co-ordinate their scientific research policies and undertake where
appropriate joint programmes of scientific research in the area;
(d) to invite, as appropriate, other interested States or international
organizations to co-operate with them in furtherance of the
provisions of this article.
PART X
RIGHT OF ACCESS OF LAND-LOCKED STATES TO
AND FROM THE SEA AND FREEDOM OF TRANSIT
Article 124
Use of terms
1. For the purposes of this Convention:
(a) "land-locked State" means a State which has no sea-coast;
(b) "transit State" means a State, with or without a sea-coast, situated
between a land-locked State and the sea, through whose territory
traffic in transit passes;
(c) "traffic in transit" means transit of persons, baggage, goods and
means of transport across the territory of one or more transit
States, when the passage across such territory, with or without
trans-shipment, warehousing, breaking bulk or change in the mode of
transport, is only a portion of a complete journey which begins or
terminates within the territory of the land-locked State;
(d) "means of transport" means:
(i) railway rolling stock, sea, lake and river craft and road
vehicles;
(ii) where local conditions so require, porters and pack animals.
2. Land-locked States and transit States may, by agreement between them,
include as means of transport pipelines and gas lines and means of
transport other than those included in paragraph 1.
Article 125
Right of access to and from the sea and freedom of transit
1. Land-locked States shall have the right of access to and from the sea
for the purpose of exercising the rights provided for in this Convention
including those relating to the freedom of the high seas and the common
heritage of mankind. To this end, land-locked States shall enjoy freedom of
transit through the territory of transit States by all means of transport.
2. The terms and modalities for exercising freedom of transit shall be
agreed between the land-locked States and transit States concerned through
bilateral, subregional or regional agreements.
3. Transit States, in the exercise of their full sovereignty over their
territory, shall have the right to take all measures necessary to ensure
that the rights and facilities provided for in this Part for land-locked
States shall in no way infringe their legitimate interests.
Article 126
Exclusion of application of the most-favoured-nation clause
The provisions of this Convention, as well as special agreements relating
to the exercise of the right of access to and from the sea, establishing
rights and facilities on account of the special geographical position of
land-locked States are excluded from the application of the most-favoured-
nation clause.
Article 127
Customs duties, taxes and other charges
1. Traffic in transit shall not be subject to any customs duties, taxes or
other charges except charges levied for specific services rendered in
connection with such traffic.
2. Means of transport in transit and other facilities provided for and used
by land-locked States shall not be subject to taxes or charges higher than
those levied for the use of means of transport of the transit State.
Article 128
Free zones and other customs facilities
For the convenience of traffic in transit, free zones or other customs
facilities may be provided at the ports of entry and exit in the transit
States, by agreement between those States and the land-locked States.
Article 129
Co-operation in the construction and
improvement of means of transport
Where there are no means of transport in transit States to give effect to
the freedom of transit or where the existing means, including the port
installations and equipment, are inadequate in any respect, the transit
States and land-locked States concerned may co-operate in constructing or
improving them.
Article 130
Measures to avoid or eliminate delays or other difficulties
of a technical nature in traffic in transit
1. Transit States shall take all appropriate measures to avoid delays or
other difficulties of a technical nature in traffic in transit.
2. Should such delays or difficulties occur, the competent authorities of
the transit States and land-locked States concerned shall co-operate
towards their expeditious elimination.
Article 131
Equal treatment in maritime ports
Ships flying the flag of land-locked States shall enjoy treatment equal to
that accorded to other foreign ships in maritime ports.
Article 132
Grant of greater transit facilities
This Convention does not entail in any way the withdrawal of transit
facilities which are greater than those provided for in this Convention and
which are agreed between States Parties to this Convention or granted by a
State Party. This Convention also does not preclude such grant of greater
facilities in the future.
