Maritime law (also known as admiralty law or law of the sea) is a fundamental part of international law founded on the same rules and norms that govern international law, generally. In fact, the earliest law of the sea, the freedom-of-the-seas doctrine (that the sea should be free and open to all parties except for a narrow belt surrounding a nation's coastline), dates back to the origins of international law itself in the writings of Hugo Grotius in 1609. Over the years, customary law developed with some unique twists and turns, culminating in what can be said to be a "constitution-like" settlement in the form of the UN Convention on Law of the Sea passed in 1982 by 159 nations and implemented in 1994. While the LOSC (law of the Sea convention) codifies great many things, there are other general principles, customary rules, and normal exceptions which merit discussion, along with contemporary issues like piracy and terrorism at sea The evolution of the law of the sea has been shaped largely by two notions, namely, Freedom of navigation on the one hand, and restricted access on the other hand. The interaction between these two opposing notions has led to the acceptance of two compromise concepts, namely, the territorial sea and the right of innocent passage. These concepts have now been codified in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This paper examines the right of innocent passage in the territorial sea under the Law of the Sea Convention and the various aspects of the innocent passage; it also brings to light certain aspects that need to be addressed under the said concept.
European Energy and Environmental Law Review