Three-mile limit
Encyclopedia
The three-mile limit refers to a traditional and now largely obsolete conception of the international law
of the seas which defined a country's territorial waters
, for the purposes of trade regulation and exclusivity, as extending as far as the reach of cannon
s fired from land.
In Mare clausum
(1635) John Selden
endeavoured to prove that the sea was in practice virtually as capable of appropriation as terrestrial territory. As conflicting claims grew out of the controversy, maritime states came to moderate their demands and base their maritime claims on the principle that it extended seawards from land. A workable formula was found by Cornelius Bynkershoek
in his De dominio maris (1702), restricting maritime dominion to the actual distance within which cannon range could effectively protect it. Most maritime nations adopted this principle, which developed into a limit of three nautical mile
s. (It has also been suggested that the three-mile limit derived, at least in some cases, from the general application of the league
(a common unit of measurement at sea) rather than from the range of cannon.)
Since the mid-20th century, numerous nations have claimed territorial waters well beyond the traditional three-mile (5 km) limit. Commonly these maritime territories extend 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from a coastline, and this was eventually established as the international norm by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
. As a result, the three-mile limit has become largely obsolete. , only Gibraltar
, Jordan
, Palau
, and Singapore
retain it.
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
of the seas which defined a country's territorial waters
Territorial waters
Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most from the baseline of a coastal state...
, for the purposes of trade regulation and exclusivity, as extending as far as the reach of cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s fired from land.
In Mare clausum
Mare clausum
Mare clausum is a term used in international law to mention a sea, ocean or other navigable body of water under the jurisdiction of a state that is closed or not accessible to other states. Mare clausum is an exception to mare liberum , meaning a sea that is open to navigation to ships of all...
(1635) John Selden
John Selden
John Selden was an English jurist and a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law...
endeavoured to prove that the sea was in practice virtually as capable of appropriation as terrestrial territory. As conflicting claims grew out of the controversy, maritime states came to moderate their demands and base their maritime claims on the principle that it extended seawards from land. A workable formula was found by Cornelius Bynkershoek
Cornelius Bynkershoek
Cornelis van Bijnkershoek was a Dutch jurist and legal theorist who contributed to the development of international law in works like De Dominio Maris Dissertatio ; Observationes Juris Romani , of which a continuation in four books appeared in 1733; the treatise De foro...
in his De dominio maris (1702), restricting maritime dominion to the actual distance within which cannon range could effectively protect it. Most maritime nations adopted this principle, which developed into a limit of three nautical mile
Nautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
s. (It has also been suggested that the three-mile limit derived, at least in some cases, from the general application of the league
League (unit)
A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
(a common unit of measurement at sea) rather than from the range of cannon.)
Since the mid-20th century, numerous nations have claimed territorial waters well beyond the traditional three-mile (5 km) limit. Commonly these maritime territories extend 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from a coastline, and this was eventually established as the international norm by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea , which took place from 1973 through 1982...
. As a result, the three-mile limit has become largely obsolete. , only Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
, and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
retain it.