Flag State Genuine Link

UNCLOS Article 91 requires a genuine link between a state and the ships flying its flag, while leaving each state to fix the conditions for granting nationality and registration. The requirement was meant to curb flags of convenience, but ITLOS held in the M/V Saiga (No. 2) case (1999) that the absence of a genuine link does not entitle another state to refuse recognition of the nationality; the remedy lies in the flag state’s duties under Article 94, not in challenges to the registration itself.