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IP Treaties Collection
Contracting Parties United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea United Kingdom

Dates Accession: July 25, 1997 Entry into force: August 24, 1997

Declarations, Reservations

Objections made on April 28, 2015:
With regard to the interpretative declaration made by the Democratic Republic of the Congo:
"The Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations in New York presents its compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations acting in his capacity as treaty depository and has the honour to refer to his note C.N.221.2014.TREATIES-XXI.6 (Depositary Notification) of 29 April 2014, which communicated that an interpretative declaration to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, 10 December 1982) ("the Convention") had been received from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, together with declarations under Articles 287 and 298 of the Convention.
The Government of the United Kingdom notes that Article 309 prohibits reservations and exceptions to the Convention, except where expressly permitted. Article 310 clarifies that Article 309 does not preclude a State, when signing, ratifying or acceding to the Convention, from making a declaration or statement with a view, inter alia, to the harmonisation of its laws and regulations with the provisions of the Convention, provided that the declaration or statement does not purport to exclude or modify the legal effect of the provisions of the Convention in their application to that State.
The United Kingdom notes that the interpretative declaration is out of time as it was not made at the time of ratification (17 February 1989), in accordance with Article 310.
The United Kingdom further notes that the interpretative declaration is unclear. The Democratic Republic of the Congo purports to reserve the right to interpret the Convention "in the context of and with due regard to the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its territorial integrity as it applies to land, space and sea". It may be intended to modify the application of the Convention, which is prohibited under article 310. Alternatively, it may amount to a reservation or exception which is prohibited under Article 309.
For these reasons, the United Kingdom objects to the interpretative declaration, although this does not preclude the continued application of the Convention between the United Kingdom and the Democratic Republic of the Congo."

On 17 October 2013, the Secretary-General received from the Government of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland the following communication with regard to the declaration made by Ecuador upon accession:
"The Government of the United Kingdom notes from discussions between representatives of the European Union and of Ecuador that Ecuador does not intend that the Declaration should exclude or modify the legal effect of the provisions of the Convention.
In view of this clarification, the United Kingdom is content that the Convention should enter into force between Ecuador and the United Kingdom."

Declaration pursuant to article 298 (April 7, 2003):
".....the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland does not accept any of the procedures provided for in section 2 of Part XV of the Convention with respect to the categories of disputes referred to in paragraph 1(b) and (c) of article 298."

Declaration made on January 12,1998:
"In accordance with article 287, paragraph 1, of the [said Convention], the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland chooses the International Court of Justice for the settlement of disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention.
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is a new institution, which the United Kingdom hopes will make an important contribution to the peaceful settlement of disputes concerning the law of the sea. In addition to those cases where the Convention itself provides for the compulsory jurisdiction of the Tribunal, the United Kingdom remains ready to consider the submission of disputes to the Tribunal as may be agreed on a case-by-case basis."

Declarations made upon accession: "(a) General: The United Kingdom cannot accept any declaration or statement made or to be made in the future which is not in conformity with articles 309 and 310 of the Convention. Article 309 of the Convention prohibits reservations and exceptions (except those expressly permitted by other articles of the Convention). Under article 310 declarations and statements made by a State cannot exclude or modify the legal effect of the provisions of the Convention in their application to the State concerned. The United Kingdom considers that declarations and statements not in conformity with articles 309 and 310 include, inter alia , the following: - - Those which relate to baselines not drawn in conformity with the Convention; - - Those which purport to require any form of notification or permission before warships or other ships exercise the right of innocent passage or freedom of navigation or which otherwise purport to limit navigational rights in ways not permitted by the Convention; - - Those which are incompatible with the provisions of the Convention relating to straits used for international navigation, including the right of transit passage; - - Those which are incompatible with the provisions of the Convention relating to archipelagic states or waters, including archipelagic baselines and archipelagic sea lanes passage; -- Those which are not in conformity with the provisions of the Convention relating to the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf, including those which claim coastal state jurisdiction over all installations and structures in the exclusive economic zone or on the continental shelf, and those which pur- port to require consent for exercises or manoeuvres (including weapons exercises) inthose areas; - - Those which purport to subordinate the interpretation or application of the Convention to national laws and regulations, including constitutional provisions. [See declaration of December 31, 2020: (b) European Community: The United Kingdom recalls that, as a Member of the European Community, it has transferred competence to the Community in respect of certain matters governed by the Convention. A detailed declaration on the nature and extent of the competence to the European Community will be made in due course in accordance with the provisions of Annex IX of the Convention.] (c) The Falkland Islands: With regard to paragraph (d) of the Declaration made upon ratification of the Convention by the Government of the Argentine Republic, the Government of the United Kingdom has no doubt about the sovereignty of the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands and over South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The Government of the United Kingdom, as the administering authority of both Territories, has extended the United Kingdom's accession to the Falkland Islands and to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The Government of the United Kingdom, therefore, rejects as unfounded paragraph (d) of the Argentine declaration. (d) Gibraltar: With regard to point 2 of the declaration made upon ratification of the convention by the Government of Spain, the Government of the United Kingdom has no doubt about the sovereignty of the United Kingdom over Gibraltar, including its territorial waters. The Government of the United Kingdom, as the administering authority of Gibraltar, has extended the United Kingdom's accession to the Convention and ratification of the Agreement to Gibraltar. The Government of the United Kingdom, therefore, rejects as unfounded point 2 of the Spanish declaration."

On 31 December 2020, the Secretary-General received from the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland the following declaration notifying the withdrawal of its declaration made upon accession with respect to its transfer of competence to the European Community: "[The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has] the … honour to refer to the Declarations of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (hereafter 'the United Kingdom') made on 25 July 1997 upon its accession to the 'Convention', point (b) of which reads as follows '(b) European Community The United Kingdom recalls that, as a Member of the European Community, it has transferred competence to the Community in respect of certain matters governed by the Convention. A detailed declaration on the nature and extent of the competence to the European Community will be made in due course in accordance with the provisions of Annex IX of the Convention.' Following the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020 and the end of the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union on 31 December 2020, the United Kingdom will have full competence in its own right over all matters covered by the Convention. In accordance with Article 5(4) of Annex IX of the Convention, [the Government of the United Kingdom has] the honour hereby to convey notification … of the withdrawal of point (b) of its Declarations, with respect to its transfer of competence to the European Community in respect of certain matters governed by the Convention, with effect from the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. This notification has no effect on the other Declarations made by the United Kingdom in respect of the Convention on 25 July 1997, 12 January 1998 and 7 April 2003." (See CN.577.2020.TREATIES-XXI.6 of 8 January 2021 for the notification.)

Declaration pursuant to article 298 (December 31, 2020): "[The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has] the further honour hereby to convey the Declaration of the United Kingdom that pursuant to article 298, paragraph 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the United Kingdom does not accept any of the procedures provided for in section 2 of Part XV of the Convention with respect to the categories of disputes referred to in paragraph 1(a) of article 298."

 Territorial Information

Declaration made upon accession:
"Extent [This] instrument of accession [..] extend[s] to:
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The Bailiwick of Jersey, The Bailiwick of Guernsey, The Isle of Man, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, St.Helena and Dependencies, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands."