territorial sea

Under Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS), every State may fix the breadth of its territorial sea up to 12 nautical miles from the baselines. The coastal State's sovereignty extends to the water, the airspace above, and the seabed and subsoil, subject to the right of innocent passage of foreign ships (Article 17).

India fixed its territorial waters at 12 nautical miles by the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976. Under Article 297 of the Constitution, things of value under the ocean within the territorial waters vest in the Union. Beyond the territorial sea lie the contiguous zone (24 nm) and the EEZ (200 nm).

Example

A foreign fishing vessel caught within 12 nautical miles of the Indian coast was within India's territorial sea and subject to its laws.

In Indian law

• Articles 3 and 17, 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

innocent passage · contiguous zone · exclusive economic zone · hot pursuit

Read more in the study notes

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