Already in its sixth year of existence, this Documentary Yearbook provides you with the only independent collection of documents related to ocean affairs & the law of the sea, issued each year by international organizations. The Yearbook is arranged systematically & thereby gives the community of scholars & practitioners in ocean affairs & the law of the sea much improved access to essential documentation. Like the previous volumes, the 1990 volume focuses on the United Nations family of international organizations & on several non-UN intergovernmental organizations of developing states. The most important documents which were issued in the course of 1990 are reproduced (in whole or in part), while other relevant documents are listed. An extensive index of Keywords facilitates access by the reader to the complex & often interrelated matters dealt with by various organizations as well as to the information concerning individual states, regions & international instruments.

The studies in this book concern the nature of international law, how it is and is not constituted, and whether commitments that are legally binding can change the behaviour of states as well as or better than non-binding legal norms do.

First published in 1981 as the Offshore Information Guide this guide to information sources has been hailed internationally as an indispensable handbook for the oil, gas and marine industries.

Fully indexed, the 1990 edition of the Yearbook is the single most current, comprehensive and authoritative reference publication about the work of the United Nations, other international organizations and related bodies. The book is designed not just for use by diplomats, officials and scholars but also by other researchers, writers, journalists, teachers and students. The year 1990 was a remarkably eventful one for the United Nations and in the conduct of international relations. This volume of the Yearbook details the activities of the United Nations, its many organs, agencies and programmes, working together to rekindle a new form of multilateral cooperation for a better world. It records the diverse and globe-encompassing activities of the United Nations and its enduring efforts to deal with the world's pressing concerns, particularly matters of international peace and security, disarmament, human rights, the settlement of regional conflicts, economic and social development, the preservation of the environment, control of drugs and narcotic substance abuse, crime prevention, adequate shelter, youth and the ageing and humanitarian assistance for refugees as well as disaster relief. The Yearbook is an invaluable tool for anyone seeking in-depth information about the United Nations and its family of organisations. With the publication of the 1990 edition, all 50 editions covering the years from 1946 through 1996 are now available. This complete set of Yearbook volumes will facilitate the work of researchers of all kinds everywhere to obtain a comprehensive overview of the activities of the United Nations since its origins.

The oceans cover more than seventy per cent of the surface of the planet and they provide many vital ecosystem services. However, the health of the world's oceans has been deteriorating over the past decades and the protection of the marine environment has emerged as one of the most pressing legal and political challenges for the international community. An effective solution depends upon the cooperation of all states towards achieving agreed objectives. This book provides a critical assessment of the role that international law plays in this process, by explaining and evaluating the various legal instruments that have been negotiated in this area, as well as key trends in global ocean governance. Starting with a detailed analysis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the book considers the main treaties and other legal texts that seeks to prevent, reduce, and control damage to the marine environment caused by navigation, seabed exploitation, fishing, dumping, and land-based activities, as well as emerging pressures such as ocean noise and climate change. The book demonstrates how international institutions have expanded their mandates to address a broader range of marine environmental issues, beyond basic problems of pollution control to include the conservation of marine biological diversity and an ecosystems approach to regulation. It also discusses the development of diverse regulatory tools to address anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment and the extent to which states have adopted a precautionary approach in different maritime sectors. Whilst many advances have been made in these matters, this book highlights the need for greater coordination between international institutions, as well as the desirability of developing stronger enforcement mechanisms for international environmental rules.