A Review of Jurisdiction and Enforcement Issues for International Maritime Laws

Abstract

The collection of guidelines, rules and regulations that control how seas, oceans, and other navigable waters are used is known as international maritime law. Navigation, maritime boundaries, shipping, piracy, marine environmental protection, fisheries, maritime security, and dispute resolution are among the topics it controls. Questions of jurisdiction and enforcement continue to be among the most complicated facets of international maritime law because maritime operations take place across national and international borders. While enforcement refers to the methods available to guarantee adherence to such rules, jurisdiction establishes a state's legal capacity to create, implement, and execute laws inside marine spaces. Treaties, customary international law, and organisations like the United Nations, International marine Organization, and International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea all play a major role in regulating the international marine system. Despite the existence of comprehensive legal frameworks such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, serious jurisdictional and enforcement challenges persist. These challenges include conflicts of jurisdiction, weak enforcement capacity, piracy, illegal fishing, marine pollution, and difficulties associated with transnational maritime crimes. This work uses the doctrinal research methodology to review the major jurisdictional principles and enforcement issues affecting international maritime law and evaluates their implications for global maritime governance.

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