50 



the air space over the territorial sea as well 

 as to its bed and subsoil." Although the Con- 

 vention does not specify the breadth of the 

 territorial sea, and claims vai-y from 3 nau- 

 tical miles to 200 miles or more, the United 

 States lias maintained that no claim to a 

 breadth greater than 3 nautical miles is sanc- 

 tioned by international law. The rivers, lakes, 

 and canals within its land area; the waters 

 on the landward side of the baseline of the 

 territorial sea (normally the low water line 

 along the coast) ; and the waters landward 

 of closing lines across bays constitute the 

 coastal nation's "internal waters." 



Except as limited by treaty, each coastal 

 nation may prescribe and enforce its law in 

 its internal and territorial waters and lias 

 permanent, exclusive access to the living and 

 nonliving resources in these waters, on their 

 beds, or in their subsoil. 



The High Seas 



The International Convention on the High 

 Seas defines the "high seas"' to include "all 

 parts of the sea that are not included in the 

 territorial sea or in the internal waters" of 

 a nation. It proclaims that they are "open to 

 all nations" and no nation "may validly pur- 

 port to subject any part of them to its sov- 

 ereignty." Both coastal and noncoastal na- 

 tions may exercise the freedoms of the high 

 seas. According to the Convention, they com- 

 prise freedom of navigation, freedom of fish- 

 ing, freedom to lay submarine cables and 

 pipelines, freedom to fly over the high seas, 

 and other freedoms "recognized by the gen- 

 eral principles of international law." How- 

 ever, some of these freedoms are restricted 

 or regulated pursuant to international trea- 

 ties and otlier international agreements. 



The Contiguous Zone 



The Convention on the Territorial Sea and 

 the Contiguous Zone specifies that within a 



zone of the high seas "which may not extend 

 beyond twelve miles from the baseline from 

 which the breadth of tlie territorial sea is 

 measured," each coastal nation may exercise 

 the control necessaiy to prevent infringement 

 of its customs, fiscal, immigration, or sani- 

 tary regulations and may punish any such in- 

 fringement committed within its territory or 

 territorial sea. 



Although the Convention seems to restrict 

 the purposes for whicli national control may 

 be exercised in the contiguous zone, the coast- 

 al nation's authority is not, in fact, so limited. 

 This is true, because one way or another, 

 coastal nations claim permanent, exclusive 

 access to the living resources of the sea up 

 to 12 miles and more from the baselines from 

 which the breadth of the territorial sea is 

 measured. Thus, the United States has passed 

 laws and regulations prohibiting foreign ves- 

 sels from fishing in its 12-mile "exclusive 

 fisheries zone" without its permission. 



The Continental Shelf 



The International Convention on the Con- 

 tinental Shelf recognizes the sovei-eign rights 

 of the coastal nation to explore the shelf and 

 exploit its natural resources. These rights are 

 declared to be exclusive in the sense that, even 

 if the coastal nation does not undertake these 

 activities or make a claim to the continental 

 shelf, no one else may do so without its ex- 

 press consent. 



The Convention defines the continental 

 shelf as "the seabed and subsoil of the sub- 

 marine areas adjacent to the coast but outside 

 the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 

 200 meters (656 feet) , or, beyond that limit, to 

 wliere the depth of the superjacent waters 

 admits of the exploitation of the natural re- 

 sources of the said areas" and "the seabed 

 and subsoil of similar submarine areas ad- 

 jacent to the coasts of islands." It defines the 

 natural resources to which the coastal nation 



