exclusive economic zone
Under Part V of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS), the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extends up to 200 nautical miles from the baselines (Article 57). In it the coastal state has sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing natural resources, living and non-living, and jurisdiction over artificial islands, marine scientific research and protection of the marine environment (Article 56).
The EEZ is not territory: other states keep the freedoms of navigation, overflight and laying of cables and pipelines. India's EEZ is declared by the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976, and Article 297 of the Constitution vests its resources in the Union. Compare the territorial sea (12 nm) and the contiguous zone (24 nm).
Example
A foreign warship may pass through India's exclusive economic zone, but a foreign trawler may not fish there without India's permission.
In Indian law
- Articles 56 and 57, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982
- Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976
- Article 297, Constitution of India
See also
Read more in the study notes
- Concepts of national income: GDP, GNP, NNP, NI, PI and DPI (Economic Theory and Public Finance)
- Law of the sea: baselines, territorial sea, contiguous zone and EEZ (Public International Law)