The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems (aquifers), and wetlands.[1]
"International waters" is not a defined term in international law. It is an informal term, which sometimes refers to waters beyond the "territorial sea" of any country.[2] In other words, "international waters" is sometimes used as an informal synonym for the more formal term "high seas", which under the doctrine of mare liberum (Latin for "freedom of the seas"), do not belong to any state's jurisdiction. As such, states have the right to fishing, navigation, overflight, laying cables and pipelines, as well as scientific research.
The Convention on the High Seas, signed in 1958, which has 63 signatories, defined "high seas" to mean "all parts of the sea that are not included in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a State" and where "no State may validly purport tosubject any part of them to its sovereignty."[3] The Convention on the High Seas was used as a foundation for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), signed in 1982, which recognized exclusive economic zones extending 200NaN from the baseline, where coastal states have sovereign rights to the water column and sea floor as well as the natural resources found there.[4]
The high seas make up 50% of the surface area of the planet and cover over two-thirds of the ocean.[5]
Ships sailing the high seas are generally under the jurisdiction of the flag state (if there is one);[6] however, when a ship is involved in certain criminal acts, such as piracy,[7] any nation can exercise jurisdiction under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction. International waters can be contrasted with internal waters, territorial waters and exclusive economic zones.
UNCLOS also contains, in its part XII, special provisions for the protection of the marine environment, which, in certain cases, allow port States to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction over foreign ships on the high seas if they violate international environmental rules (adopted by the IMO), such as the MARPOL Convention.[8]
Several international treaties have established freedom of navigation on semi-enclosed seas.
Other international treaties have opened up rivers, which are not traditionally international waterways.
See also: Territorial claims in the Arctic, South China Sea dispute and Australian Antarctic Territory.
Current unresolved disputes over whether particular waters are "International waters" include:
While Canada, Denmark, Russia and Norway all regard parts of the Arctic seas as national waters or internal waters, most European Union countries and the United States officially regard the whole region as international waters. The Northwest Passage through the Arctic Archipelago is one of the more prominent examples, with Canada claiming it as internal waters, while the United States and the European Union considers it an international strait.
Japanese claim to an EEZ around Okinotorishima is challenged by China, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Disputes exist between Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
| Outer space (including Earth orbits; the Moon and other celestial bodies, and their orbits) | |||||||
| territorial waters airspace | contiguous zone airspace | international airspace | |||||
| land territory surface | internal waters surface | territorial waters surface | contiguous zone surface | Exclusive Economic Zone surface | international waters surface | ||
| international waters | |||||||
| land territory underground | continental shelf surface | extended continental shelf surface | international seabed surface | ||||
| continental shelf underground | extended continental shelf underground | international seabed underground | |||||
At least ten conventions are included within the Regional Seas Program of UNEP,[20] including:
Addressing regional freshwater issues is the 1992 Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE/Helsinki Water Convention)[24]