Using submarine cables for climate monitoring and disaster warning Opportunities and legal challenges
Table of contents
1 Introduction and executive summary
2 Jurisdiction and the law of the sea
2.1 Territorial sea
2.2 Right of innocent passage
2.3 Contiguous zone
2.4 Exclusive economic zone (“EEZ”)
2.5 Continental shelf
2.6 High seas
2.7 The area
3 International legal regime for installation and maintenance of submarine cables
4 International legal regime for marine data collection
4.1 Marine scientific research
4.2 Surveys
4.3 Exploration and exploitation of marine resources
4.4 Operational oceanography
5 Preliminary assessment of legal-regulatory considerations
5.1 The LOS convention and customary international law do not classify dual purpose telecom-marine data cables definitively as MSR
5.2 Dual purpose telecom-marine data cables are likely to be permitted with few restrictions by some coastal states while treated as MSR by other coastal states
5.3 The potential for erosion of submarine cable rights and freedom
5.4 A way forward
Glossary
Bibliography