The Law and Limits of Exclusive Economic Zone under UNCLOS : Equity, Fisheries Disciplines and Maritime Disputes

The regime of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea can be discussed as the well-balanced compromise between the rights of the coastal States to the resources and the maintenance of the open maritime order. This paper is a critical analysis of the legal framework and practical boundaries of EEZ system with respect to three related aspects of structure namely equity in maritime delimitation, fisheries governance, and compliance in disputed maritime spaces. Basing on the judicial developments that occurred in cases like North Sea Continental Shelf Case, Bangladesh v. Myanmar, and South China Sea Arbitration, the article illustrates the way in which equity has been transformed into an organized methodology of making EEZ boundaries as opposed to a discretionary principle. The analysis also places the EEZ regime as a part of emerging multi-layered framework of governance by evaluating the ramifications of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies which implement trade-based disciplines to curb any illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing or overcapacity. The article presents a case study of the South China Sea and explains that the main weakness of the EEZ system is not the ambiguity of doctrines but selective adherence to the rules and geopolitical asymmetries. The constant disconnects between the norms of law, and the State practice compromises the equitable allocation of resources as well as the protection of the environment. The article concludes that more realistic convergence to the enhancement of compliance lies in incremental institutional change, especially a binding regional code of conduct with an informed view of the existing jurisprudence than in formal legal reform.