Law of the sea in the context of "Transit passage"

Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private parties operating or using ocean-going ships. While each legal jurisdiction usually has its own legislation governing maritime matters, the international nature of the topic and the need for uniformity has, since 1900, led to considerable international maritime law developments, including numerous multilateral treaties.

Admiralty law, which mainly governs the relations of private parties, is distinguished from the law of the sea, a body of public international law regulating maritime relationships between nations, such as navigational rights, mineral rights, and jurisdiction over coastal waters. While admiralty law is adjudicated in national courts, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has been adopted by 167 countries and the European Union, and disputes are resolved at the ITLOS tribunal in Hamburg.

Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Goal 14 or SDG 14) is about "Life below water" and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording is to "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development". The Goal has ten targets to be achieved by 2030. Progress towards each target is being measured with one indicator each time by time.

The first seven targets are outcome targets: Reduce marine pollution; protect and restore ecosystems; reduce ocean acidification; sustainable fishing; conserve coastal and marine areas; end subsidies contributing to overfishing; increase the economic benefits from sustainable use of marine resources. The last three targets are means of implementation targets: To increase scientific knowledge, research and technology for ocean health; support small scale fishers; implement and enforce international sea law. One indicator (14.1.1b) under Goal 14 specifically relates to reducing impacts from marine plastic pollution.

A coastal state is a term found in the law of the sea. Although widely used in the legal documents, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), this term lacks a precise definition. The "essential idea" of a coastal state is having an open sea coast and asserting the sovereignty or jurisdiction in the areas of the sea adjacent to this coast. Norway, Canada, and Chile are examples of the coastal states, Churchill counts up a total of 150 of such states (while considering the definition in the Virginia Commentary, "the State from the coastline or baselines of which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured" to be "overly narrow").

The interests of a coastal state can be in conflict with those of the maritime nations (the ones that greatly depend on the sea trade routes). For example, when the marine pollution is concerned, the coastal states seek to protect their shores and waters, while the maritime nations worry about limits the protective regulations place onto the freedom of navigation. Many states have both maritime and coastal interests, so the groups of coastal and maritime states intersect to a large degree.

Innocent passage is a concept in the law of the sea that allows for a vessel to pass through the territorial sea (and certain grandfathered internal waters) of another state, subject to certain restrictions. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Article 19 defines innocent passage as:

Underwater vehicles like submarines are required by the treaty to surface and show their flags during innocent passage.

The Copenhagen Convention, which came into force on 14 March 1857, is a maritime treaty governing transit passage through the Danish straits.