Coastal state authority in relation to marine pollution by ships.

This project intends to obtain a better understanding of the new provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, December 10, 1982) concerning the competence of the coastal state relating to marine pollution from ships or dumping. Many of these provisions contained in the convention mark a clear break with the past, in the sense that they try to establish a nieuw balance between the interests of the coastal /port states on the one hand, and those of the flag states on the other. Taking into account the fact that the convention only entered into force on November 16, 1994, as well as the fact that its ratification procedure recently gained momentum (113 entities being bound at the beginning of February 1997), it appears appropriate to analyze to what extent this new balance is reflected in state practice. Some of these provisions were drafted in ambiguous terminology and need to be clarified. This project frames in a larger research endeavor undertaken within the framework of the International Law Association, to which the project leader participates as the rapporteur of the relevant Committee. The proposed topic is also of importance to Belgium, as can be derived from the fact that the Ministry of Public Health and Environment recently concluded a contract with the project leader (worth about 1 million Belgian francs) in order to analyze the Belgian relevant legislation and to propose concrete amendments.