The Fundamental Legal Notion and Codification of the International Law of the Sea

Abstract

The development of the public international law of the sea is considered a legal element inseparable from the historical-legal process of the adoption and development of international law in general. Although the basic concepts of general maritime legislation are found in the customary maritime law of ancient Rome and Greece, as well as in the rules of medieval maritime codes created by Hispanic, Italian, and English city-states between the 11th and XVth centuries in Europe, the law of the sea in the contemporary sense of the term, was adopted as a result of interrelations between European states with maritime interests during the period known as the modern or post-medieval era of history. International law of the sea, as it is considered today, developed only when the necessity of the creation of independent territorial states enabled the true development of international relations in Europe. This radical change in the international system, the beginnings of which can be found in the historical developments of the Conference of Westphalia in 1648, can not be considered a separate event, but reflects a complex process characterized by a slow and silent historical development of which has progressed from the sixteenth century onwards, to the twenty-first century.

Received: 27 December 2021 / Accepted: 10 March 2022 / Published: 20 March 2022