1. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Dec. 10, 1982, UN A/CONF. 62/122, 1982, reprinted inThe Law of the Sea Official Text of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea with Annexes and Index, UN Sales No. E. 83. V. 5, 1983 and 21 I. L. M. 1261, 1982 (referred to in this paper as UNCLOS).
2. A coastal state exercises jurisdiction over waters under national sovereignty (i.e. internal waters and territorial sea, as well as archipelagic waters in the case of an archipelagic state) and has jurisdiction over its contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in respect of the rights and duties identified in relevant articles of UNCLOS. As a general proposition, the jurisdiction of a coastal state over its maritime zones diminishes as the distance of the zone from the coast increases.
3. A port state exercises jurisdiction over vessels entering its internal waters for whatever purpose, and has the right to deny access to such waters if international law or its domestic laws are not observed. Vessels with sovereign immunity are exempted from the jurisdiction of a port state but would normally seek diplomatic clearance before entering port.
4. A flag state is a state which grants vessels using international waters, regardless of type and purpose, the right to fly its flag and, in so doing, gives the ships its nationality. There must be a genuine link between the state and the ship (UNCLOS Article 91(1)), and the state shall issue ships granted the right to fly its flag documents to that effect (UNCLOS Article 91(2)).
5. As of June 4, 2007, there were 155 parties to UNCLOS. A list of parties to UNCLOS may be found on the Web site of the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea, available athttp://www.un.org/Depts/los/reference_files/status2007.pdf.