Introduction to offshore jurisdiction Sample Clauses

Introduction to offshore jurisdiction. It is necessary to identify whether coastal states have the right to establish and regulate offshore installations and pipelines before discussing decommissioning of offshore infrastructure. Under international law, this right is based on the sovereignty of states. Sovereignty refers to the all- encompassing right of an independent nation state to regulate and enforce affairs within its territory.5 States have in principle no sovereignty beyond their territorial land. This has also applied to the seas since the early 17th century when Xxxxxxx introduced the principle that the sea should be considered as a res communis that is not subject to legal title of any state. All nations should be free to use the sea for seafaring trade and fishery.6 Nevertheless, coastal states have claimed some exclusive offshore rights. These rights have been codified in the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf and/or later 1982 UNCLOS and assigned to some specific offshore areas. Relevant to the North Sea and this report are the following areas: the territorial sea, the continental shelf (and Exclusive Economic Zone) and the high seas. Whereas the high seas are open to all mankind, coastal states have sovereignty in the territorial seas and may exercise sovereign rights on the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone. Sovereign rights entail a functional jurisdiction, which relates to a specific function or defined activity such as the production of energy and thus the right to regulate the construction and use of offshore installations. These relevant areas are defined and described in the following paragraphs.