THE STATUS OF NAVAL MINES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW Cover Image

СТАТУС МОРСКИХ МИНА У МЕЂУНАРОДНОМ ПРАВУ
THE STATUS OF NAVAL MINES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

Author(s): Nebojša Raičević
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law, Maritime Law
Published by: Правни факултет Универзитета у Нишу
Keywords: naval mines; Convention on the Law of the Sea; Convention relative to the Laying of Automatic Submarine Contact Mines; armed conflict

Summary/Abstract: Naval mines are explosive warfare devices which are activated by contact or by proximity of a boat or a submarine. These mines can be used in times of peace and during armed conflicts. The rules on the use of naval mines in times of peace are explicitly provided in the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as in international customary law. Coastal states are allowed to lay mines in their internal waters, territorial sea and archipelagic sea. In case of laying mines in their territorial sea, a coastal state is obliged to give notice to all other coastal states on the location of the emplaced mines and the state shall not suspend the right of innocent passage to foreign ships. In case of laying mines in the archipelagic sea, mines may not be laid in archipelagic sea lanes. The rules on laying mines on the high seas are not so clear but there is a prevailing opinion that mining is prohibited of these areas. The emplacement of mines during armed conflicts is regulated by the 1907 Convention relative to the Laying of Automatic Submarine Contact Mines, as well as by some provisions contained in the 1907 Convention concerning the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers in Naval War. These conventions contain fairly clear rules on the mining in the naval armed conflicts but there is a dilemma whether these rules apply to new types of naval mines. In order to promote the adoption of new rules in this area, a group of experts made San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflict at Sea (1994), which includes 13 paragraphs on naval mines.

  • Issue Year: LXIV/2013
  • Issue No: 64
  • Page Range: 159-177
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Serbian