Ocean and Coastal Law LAW-651

This course offers students a basic introduction to the international and domestic law frameworks that govern jurisdiction over and activities within the United States’ oceans and coastal regions. The course will start with an overview of the international rules--embodied in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS)--governing national control over coastal and ocean waters, then proceed to United States issues concerning jurisdiction, including federal versus state authority and public versus private interests. It then explores management of different zones of the ocean in the United States, especially the coastal zone and the Outer Continental Shelf, and management of different resources, especially oil and gas, fisheries, marine mammals, and marine protected areas. Other topics include climate change, ocean acidification, and contemporary ocean legal developments.