From Reuters.
CAN ISRAEL IMPOSE A NAVAL BLOCKADE ON GAZA?
Yes it can, according to the law of
blockade which was derived from customary international law and codified
in the 1909 Declaration of London. It was updated in 1994 in a legally
recognized document called the "San Remo Manual on International Law
Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea."
Under
some of the key rules, a blockade must be declared and notified to all
belligerents and neutral states, access to neutral ports cannot be
blocked, and an area can only be blockaded which is under enemy control.
"On the basis that Hamas is the ruling
entity of Gaza and Israel is in the midst of an armed struggle against
that ruling entity, the blockade is legal," said Philip Roche, partner
in the shipping disputes and risk management team with law firm Norton
Rose.
WHAT ARE INTERNATIONAL
WATERS?
Under the U.N. Convention
of the Law of the Sea a coastal state has a "territorial sea" of 12
nautical miles from the coast over which it is sovereign. Ships of other
states are allowed "innocent passage" through such waters.
There is a further 12 nautical mile zone
called the "contiguous zone" over which a state may take action to
protect itself or its laws.
"However,
strictly beyond the 12 nautical miles limit the seas are the "high
seas" or international waters," Roche said.
The
Israeli navy said on Monday the Gaza bound flotilla was intercepted 120
km (75 miles) west of Israel. The Turkish captain of one of the vessels
told an Istanbul news conference after returning home from Israeli
detention they were 68 miles outside Israeli territorial waters.
Under the law of a blockade, intercepting a
vessel could apply globally so long as a ship is bound for a
"belligerent" territory, legal experts say.
CAN
ISRAEL USE FORCE WHEN INTERCEPTING SHIPS?
Under
international law it can use force when boarding a ship.
"If force is disproportionate it would be a
violation of the key tenets of the use of force," said Commander James
Kraska, professor of international law at the U.S. Naval War College.
Israeli authorities said marines who
boarded the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara opened fire in self-defense
after activists clubbed and stabbed them and snatched some of their
weapons.
Legal experts say
proportional force does not mean that guns cannot be used by forces when
being attacked with knives.
"But
there has got to be a relationship between the threat and response,"
Kraska said.
The use of force may
also have other repercussions.
"While
the full facts need to emerge from a credible and transparent
investigation, from what is known now, it appears that Israel acted
within its legal rights," said J. Peter Pham, a strategic adviser to
U.S. and European governments.
"However,
not every operation that the law permits is necessarily prudent from
the strategic point of view."
OPPONENTS
HAVE CALLED ISRAEL'S RAID "PIRACY." WAS IT?
No,
as under international law it was considered a state action.
"Whether what Israel did is right or wrong,
it is not an act of piracy. Piracy deals with private conduct
particularly with a pecuniary or financial interest," Kraska said.
HAVE THERE BEEN ANY SHIPPING DISRUPTIONS
AFTER THE RAID?
None so far but the
International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), an association which
represents 75 percent of the world's merchant fleet, has expressed "deep
concern" over the boarding by Israeli forces, arguing that merchant
ships have a right to safe passage and freedom of navigation in
international waters.
"These
fundamental principles of international law must always be upheld by all
of the world's nations," the ICS said.
For
links to the maritime declarations click on: here!OpenDocument
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