Late Assessment Submission Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11:55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.

This late penalty will apply to non-time-sensitive assessment (including essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings, etc). Late submission of time-sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs, etc.) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special Consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

Submission Instructions

Students should carefully check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as no resubmissions will be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file in error.

Word limits will be strictly applied and work above the word limit will not be marked. Footnotes are only to be used for referencing. Substantive material in footnotes will not be marked.

All assessments in the unit are to be submitted electronically via Turnitin. Plagiarism detection software is used in this unit.

All assessments must be appropriately referenced, applying the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed). The Guide is available here <https://law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/aglc>.

Assessments must be submitted in Word and must employ double (i.e., 2.0) spaced text and 12 point, Times New Roman font. Headings and subheadings should be used where appropriate.

Markers in this unit undertake a process to establish a common marking standard and all Fail papers are double-marked.

Please refer to iLearn for additional information on assessments.

Summary

This unit provides a comprehensive overview of the international law of the sea, encompassing the rules and principles binding States in their international relations on maritime matters. Throughout the unit, students will develop a theoretical understanding as well as practical knowledge of the law and governance of the various maritime zones, and the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks governing the protection of the marine environment. The unit explores the primary sources of the law of the sea, including treaties, customary law, and judicial practice. These sources are then tested in various contexts, such as protecting the marine environment from all sources of pollution, managing fisheries, regulating deep-sea activities, the interaction of the law of the sea with marine scientific research, special issues associated with climate change in the oceans, and international dispute settlement. In doing so, students will analyse real-life examples, current problems and challenges, and ongoing disputes using the general principles, rules, and procedures of international law.

Delivery

Lectures: Lectures will be recorded and made available weekly via iLearn (Echo360). 

Tutorials: 12 x 1h weekly tutorials.  

This unit is worth 10 credit points, which equates to 150 hours of work. Therefore, students should expect to commit an average of 10 hours per week to this unit, including all scheduled and unscheduled activities and preparing and executing the assessment tasks.

Prescribed Textbook

Yoshifumi Tanaka, The International Law of the Sea (4th edition, Cambridge University Press 2023)

Students can purchase this textbook online from online resellers, e.g. Booktopia and Amazon. 

Additional readings will be accessible through iLearn.

Students require access to a computer, internet with decent speed and a secure/reliable server. The iLearn page contains all Unit requirements and a weekly schedule for teaching, readings and tutorials. Information about all assessment tasks is also available on iLearn.

Topics Covered

Topic 1: Introduction to the International Law of the Sea – History, Sources, Key Concepts & Principles

Topic 2: Baselines, Internal Waters, Access to Ports, Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone

Topic 3: Continental Shelf & Exclusive Economic Zone, Seabed Energy Activities

Topic 4: Delimitation of Maritime Zones; Islands in Maritime Delimitation

Topic 5: Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction – High Seas, Deep Seabed

Topic 6: Protection of the Marine Environment & Controlling Pollution

Topic 7: Marine Fisheries Management

Topic 8: Marine Scientific Research

Topic 9: Dispute Settlement in the Law of the Sea (A): Introduction

Topic 10: Dispute Settlement in the Law of the Sea (B): Rules & Procedures

Topic 11: Climate Change in the Oceans - Sea Level Rise & Ocean Acidification

Topic 12: Law of the Sea in Practice