Due Regard

Due regard is the standard of mutual accommodation UNCLOS imposes where rights overlap. Under Article 87(2) the high-seas freedoms must be exercised with due regard for the interests of other states exercising the same freedoms and for the rights under the Convention respecting the Area; Article 56(2) imposes a parallel duty on coastal states in their EEZ. The Chagos and South China Sea awards treated due regard as a justiciable obligation requiring a balancing of the competing uses, not a mere exhortation.