United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the United States

SUBSECTION B. RULES APPLICABLE TO
MERCHANT SHIPS AND GOVERNMENT SHIPS
OPERATED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES

Article 27
Criminal jurisdiction on board a foreign ship

1. The criminal jurisdiction of the coastal State should not be exercised
on board a foreign ship passing through the territorial sea to arrest any
person or to conduct any investigation in connection with any crime
committed on board the ship during its passage, save only in the following
cases:
(a) if the consequences of the crime extend to the coastal State;
(b) if the crime is of a kind to disturb the peace of the country or the
good order of the territorial sea;
(c) if the assistance of the local authorities has been requested by the
master of the ship or by a diplomatic agent or consular officer of
the flag State; or
(d) if such measures are necessary for the suppression of illicit traffic
in narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.

2. The above provisions do not affect the right of the coastal State to
take any steps authorized by its laws for the purpose of an arrest or
investigation on board a foreign ship passing through the territorial sea
after leaving internal waters.

3. In the cases provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2, the coastal State
shall, if the master so requests, notify a diplomatic agent or consular
officer of the flag State before taking any steps, and shall facilitate
contact between such agent or officer and the ship’s crew. In cases of
emergency this notification may be communicated while the measures are
being taken.

4. In considering whether or in what manner an arrest should be made, the
local authorities shall have due regard to the interests of navigation.

5. Except as provided in Part XII or with respect to violations of laws and
regulations adopted in accordance with Part V, the coastal State may not
take any steps on board a foreign ship passing through the territorial sea
to arrest any person or to conduct any investigation in connection with any
crime committed before the ship entered the territorial sea, if the ship,
proceeding from a foreign port, is only passing through the territorial sea
without entering internal waters.

Article 28
Civil jurisdiction in relation to foreign ships

1. The coastal State should not stop or divert a foreign ship passing
through the territorial sea for the purpose of exercising civil
jurisdiction in relation to a person on board the ship.

2. The coastal State may not levy execution against or arrest the ship for
the purpose of any civil proceedings, save only in respect of obligations
or liabilities assumed or incurred by the ship itself in the course or for
the purpose of its voyage through the waters of the coastal State.
3. Paragraph 2 is without prejudice to the right of the coastal State, in
accordance with its laws, to levy execution against or to arrest, for the
purpose of any civil proceedings, a foreign ship lying in the territorial
sea, or passing through the territorial sea after leaving internal waters.

SUBSECTION C. RULES APPLICABLE TO
WARSHIPS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT SHIPS
OPERATED FOR NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSES

Article 29
Definition of warships

For the purposes of this Convention, “warship” means a ship belonging to
the armed forces of a State bearing the external marks distinguishing such
ships of its nationality, under the command of an officer duly commissioned
by the government of the State and whose name appears in the appropriate
service list or its equivalent, and manned by a crew which is under regular
armed forces discipline.

Article 30
Non-compliance by warships with the laws and
regulations of the coastal State

If any warship does not comply with the laws and regulations of the coastal
State concerning passage through the territorial sea and disregards any
request for compliance therewith which is made to it, the coastal State may
require it to leave the territorial sea immediately.

Article 31
Responsibility of the flag State for damage caused by a
warship or other government ship operated for
non-commercial purposes

The flag State shall bear international responsibility for any loss or
damage to the coastal State resulting from the non-compliance by a warship
or other government ship operated for non-commercial purposes with the laws
and regulations of the coastal State concerning passage through the
territorial sea or with the provisions of this Convention or other rules of
international law.

Article 32
Immunities of warships and other government ships operated
for non-commercial purposes

With such exceptions as are contained in subsection A and in articles 30
and 31, nothing in this Convention affects the immunities of warships and
other government ships operated for non-commercial purposes.

SECTION 4. CONTIGUOUS ZONE

Article 33
Contiguous zone

1. In a zone contiguous to its territorial sea, described as the contiguous
zone, the coastal State may exercise the control necessary to:
(a) prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary
laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea;
(b) punish infringement of the above laws and regulations committed
within its territory or territorial sea.

2. The contiguous zone may riot extend beyond 24 nautical miles from the
baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.

PART III

STRAITS USED FOR INTERNATIONAL NAVIGATION

SECTION 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 34
Legal status of waters forming straits used for
international navigation

1. The regime of passage through straits used for international navigation
established in this Part shall not in other respects affect the legal
status of the waters forming such straits or the exercise by the States
bordering the straits of their sovereignty or jurisdiction over such waters
and their air space, bed and subsoil.

2. The sovereignty or jurisdiction of the States bordering the straits is
exercised subject to this Part and to other rules of international law.

Article 35
Scope of this Part

Nothing in this Part affects:
(a) any areas of internal waters within a strait, except where the
establishment of a straight baseline in accordance with the method
set forth in article 7 has the effect of enclosing as internal waters
areas which had not previously been considered as such;
(b) the legal status of the waters beyond the territorial seas of States
bordering straits as exclusive economic zones or high seas; or
(c) the legal regime in straits in which passage is regulated in whole or
in part by long-standing international conventions in force
specifically relating to such straits.

Article 36
High seas routes or routes through exclusive economic zones
through straits used for international navigation

This Part does not apply to a strait used for international navigation if
there exists through the strait a route through the high seas or through an
exclusive economic zone of similar convenience with respect to navigational
and hydrographical characteristics; in such routes, the other relevant
Parts of this Convention, including the provisions regarding the freedoms
of navigation and overflight, apply.