Jump to Content Jump to Main Navigation
Oxford Law Citator
Sign up for alerts
Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law [MPEPIL]

Straits, International

Ruth Lapidoth

Content type:
Encyclopedia entries
Product:
Max Planck Encyclopedias of International Law [MPIL]

Module:
Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law [MPEPIL]
Article last updated:
July 2018

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2023. All Rights Reserved.date: 03 June 2023

Subject(s):
International co-operation — Exclusive economic zone — Innocent passage — Straits — UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea)

Published under the auspices of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law under the direction of Professor Anne Peters (2021–) and Professor Rüdiger Wolfrum (2004–2020). 

1For geographers and laymen a strait is a narrow, natural passage connecting two larger bodies of water. But the international law of straits applies only to more narrowly defined water spaces. The legal definition of straits regulated by international law is based on two elements: a geographical one—the nature of the bodies of water that they connect; and a functional one—their being used for international navigation, as explained below. International law on straits is a compromise between the interests of the international community, for which freedom of passage...
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content. Please, subscribe or login to access all content.