The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was adopted on 10 December 1982 at Montego Bay, Jamaica, and entered into force in 1994. Often called the "constitution for the oceans", it establishes a comprehensive legal order for the use of the seas and their resources.
Maritime Zones
UNCLOS measures maritime zones from baselines along the coast. The territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles, within which the coastal state has sovereignty, subject to the right of innocent passage of foreign ships. The contiguous zone extends up to 24 nautical miles for customs, fiscal, immigration and sanitary control. The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extends up to 200 nautical miles, within which the coastal state has sovereign rights over natural resources, including fisheries. The continental shelf may extend beyond 200 nautical miles in certain conditions. Beyond national jurisdiction lie the high seas, open to all states, and the Area, the deep seabed whose resources are the common heritage of mankind.
The Archipelagic State
Part IV of UNCLOS recognises archipelagic states, which may draw straight archipelagic baselines joining the outermost islands, so that the waters within become archipelagic waters under their sovereignty, subject to rights of archipelagic sea lanes passage. This concept was championed by Indonesia since the Djuanda Declaration of 13 December 1957, which asserted that the waters between and around the Indonesian islands form an integral part of the national territory. The date is now celebrated as National Nusantara Day.
Dispute Settlement
UNCLOS created the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg and offers a compulsory dispute settlement system, including arbitration.
In Indonesia
Indonesia ratified UNCLOS by Law No. 17 of 1985. The Convention underpins the national waters law, the management of fisheries in the EEZ, enforcement against illegal fishing, and the livelihoods of millions of coastal communities.