Reflections On The International Legal System Of Marine Protected Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

With the improvement of human activities on the sea,the damage to ocean ecological environment beyond national jurisdiction has become increasingly severe.How to protect ecological environment beyond national jurisdiction is a serious problem facing the International Community.The previous methods of conserving single species and curbing certain pollution can not meet the demand of the ecosystem management.The propose and state practices related to Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction have got some progress.Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction are geographically defined areas in the seas beyond national jurisdiction within which human activities are regulated applying the ecological approach for protective objectives.The high seas and "the Area"are the areas beyond national jurisdiction and no state may validly purport to subject any part of the high seas and "the Area" to its sovereignty.The relevant system of Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction is obscure and the international community casts doubt upon their legitimacy.Although there are some supporters such as EU promoting the construction of Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction,some states such as Norway consider it violating international sea laws such as freedom of the high seas.The most direct international law basis of Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction is regional treaties.However,the rule of treaty relative effect mean they have no legal effect in non-contracting States.The global treaties such as UNCLOS don' t provide direct international legal norms for Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction.Resolutions of international organizations such as United Nations General Assembly and the meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity promote the formulation of the relevant international law.However,these are not formal sources of the international law.In addition,Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction may affect the right of the States on the high seas and "the Area" and impact the current international sea legal system such as freedom of the high seas.Nowadays the international law and the sea law pay particular attention to maintaining the overall interests of the international community.On this basis,when the International Legal System of Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction is not perfect,we should ensure that the development and improvement of the relevant system are in accord with the overall interests of the international community.In the perspective of the overall interests of the international community,Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction are the consequences of coordination between national sovereignty and environmental protection.The development of the state practices related to Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction accelerates the development of the international sea legal system.The future development of Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction is guided by international cooperation and common but differentiated responsibilities.As the developing international legal regime,perfection of the International Legal System of Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction needs the international community to be more and more involved together.