반폐쇄해의 해양오염방지를 위한 연구

Abstract

In parallel with industrial development, a great quantity of chemical materials has been used. Consequentially, mass-transportation of oil and other dangerous materials has been required on the one hand, and the discharge of industrial wastes drew also the attention on the other hand. Furthermore, oil tankers accidents, mass use of nuclear materials, and sea-bed exploration and exploitation stimulated deepened human concern about the marine environment. The increase of international concern in relation to new and more dangerous sources of marine pollution has lead to stricter and more comprehensive legal control on the international, especially regional level. Thus, the protection of marine environment has become one of the main international legal problems in recent years.

It is very important for human beings to protect and conserve the marine environment. We had believed that the ocean is so wide and deep that it cannot be polluted for a long time. It began, however, to doubt the capacity of self-purification of the ocean due to pollution arising from various pollutants. Moreover, it is more important to prevent pollution in the semi-enclosed seas because it is so difficult to restore them once pollution occurs.

The conception about the semi-enclosed seas has been developed by the assertion of regional groups and coastal states intended to use the sea areas which lie adjacent to their coast. In addition, they wanted to extend their jurisdiction to other sea areas. The assertion of regional groups was transferred to the discussion on the semi-enclosed seas of the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea and was accepted to the new UNCLOS.

As a result, coastal states in the semi-enclosed seas came to have particular legal status and have several problems such as the restriction of freedom of the high seas, the passage of narrow channels and security problems, prevention of marine pollution, the development and conservation of marine resources, and the establishment of regional organizations.

This study reviewed the provisions in international law and the environmental principles in international marine environmental law related to semi-enclosed seas, and aimed to present the plans to prevent the marine pollution.

The geographical conception and the provisions in international law on the semi-enclosed seas were reviewed in the second chapter. According to the UNCLOS, ‘Enclosed or Semi-enclosed sea’ means a gulf, basin or sea surrounded by two or more States and connected to another sea or the ocean by a narrow outlet or consisting entirely or primarily of the territorial seas and exclusive economic zones of two or more coastal States. In article 123, co-operation of States bordering enclosed or semi-enclosed seas was stressed through an appropriate regional organization or directly.

Based on the legal status of the semi-enclosed seas, in the third chapter, the regional sea programmes were studied. UNEP has made the regional seas programmes and has supported to contract the action plans and conventions which can control the pollution of the semi-enclosed seas. Thus, Mediterranean sea programme that was estimated successfully among the inter-states co-operation management cases, Baltic sea programme, North sea and NOWPAP were considered. As a result, above cases except NOWPAP showed that the establishment of co-operation relationship between coastal states which share the semi-enclosed sea areas was the most important method to preserve marine environment and to retain socio-economic, biological and cultural value of the relevant coastal states.

In the fourth chapter, the plan to prevent the pollution was presented. It was that the relevant coastal states should co-operate with each other for an eventual object, that is to say, the preservation of marine environment.

Other plans were presented in the fifth chapter. Exclusive jurisdiction between coastal states faces each other probably because the sea area in the semi-enclosed seas is generally narrow. To settle this dispute, first of all, the relevant coastal states should establish their bilateral and multilateral co-operation relationship, and then they should exercise their jurisdiction. In addition, the strict liability principle, an international principle which can control trans-boundary marine pollution arising out of acts not prohibited by International Law, should be introduced.

In conclusion, a major point lies in the fact that the adjacent countries must intensify co-operation regarding the prevention, reduction, and control of the pollution of these seas. The co-operation between the concerned coastal states should be focused on maximizing the effectiveness of measures to prevent, abate or control trans-boundary environmental pollution. Moreover, based on the bilateral and multilateral co-operation in the semi-enclosed sea area, the coastal states should endeavour to prevent the marine pollution by exercising the jurisdiction effectively.