UNCLOS

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed at Montego Bay in 1982 and in force since 16 November 1994, is the framework treaty for ocean governance. It fixes the maritime zones (territorial sea, contiguous zone, EEZ, continental shelf, high seas, the Area), the rights of passage, flag and coastal-state jurisdiction, marine environmental protection in Part XII, and a compulsory dispute-settlement system in Part XV. With 169 parties, it is widely treated as reflecting customary law even by non-parties such as the United States.