An Analysis Of The Interpretation And Application Of Article 298 Of The United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea “Disputes Over Disputes Over Military Activities And Law Enforcement Activities”

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea establishes a systematic dispute settlement mechanism,one of the salient features of which is its peremptory nature.Article 309 of the Convention states: "no reservations or exceptions maybe made to this Covention unless expressly permitted by other articles of this Conventions." the compulsory settlement mechanism of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,while conducive to the peaceful settlement of international disputes,shall,after all,be the subject of States,Many other issues,such as State sovereignty and State secrets,have to be taken into account during its application.Article 298,paragraph 1,of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is one of the exceptions of the mandatory procedure.States parties may,by way of declaration,exclude disputes over military activities and disputes over enforcement activities in the exercise of the sovereign right of States or jurisdiction,from the compulsory jurisdiction procedure.The Convention on the Law of the Sea does not contain clear provisions on what constitutes military and law enforcement activities,This has led to many questions in practice,such as how to determine whether an activity is a military activity or a law enforcement activity.Can other countries carry out military exercises and reconnaissance freely in the exclusive economic zone of a country,and what is the relationship between military reconnaissance activities and marine scientific research in the exclusive economic zone?This paper analyzes the original intention of the States parties to article 298 from the perspective of treaty interpretation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and in conjunction with the historical background and process of drafting the paragraph.This paper also explores the difference between military activities and law enforcement activities through the analysis of typical cases in current international practice.Another major question in this paper is "dispute",that is,why should we have to confirm the existence of a dispute and what are the criterias for confirming the existence of a dispute? This paper holds that only by confirming the nature of the dispute can we confirm the if there has jurisdiction.