Canadian Foreign Policy and the Law of Sea

Since the 1960s, there have been intensive internationalnegotiations to revise the law of the sea. These discussions culminatedin the convening of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law ofthe Sea in December 1973 and in four additional sessions up toSeptember 1976. Whether the almost 150 participating states will beable to reach an accord in 1977 or later on, the myriad issues on theiragenda is still uncertain.

Two major issues have been the extension of coastal-statejurisdiction over resources and activities and the estblishment of aninternational regime to govern the exploitation of the deep seabed.

Canada's most significant role has been that of a leader of the"coastal-state grouping," which has sought to expandstates' jurisdiction over fisheries, seabed resources, scientificresearch, and pollution control within a 200-mile economic zone andsometimes beyond. A number of these Canadian policy goals have alreadybeen accepted by a large majority of the participants in theconference.

In this role, Canada has found itsself opposed to many of itstraditional allies among the developed nations with large fleetsengaged in commerce in distant waters, and concerned about thetraditional freedom of the high seas, and has aligned itself with thecoastal developing nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The seven essays in this volume examine the development of Canadianpolicies on the major law of the sea issues and the outcome of thenegotiations on them. In so doing, the studies have analysedCanada's dramatic seward expansion and involvement in one of tehmost important United Nations Conferences.