International Journal of Maritime Policy
Volume:1 Issue: 1, Winter 2021

It is my great pleasure to write the foreword for the first number of the Iranian Review for Law of the Sea and Maritime Policy (IRLSMP).The IRLSMP’s principal mission is to contribute to the sustainable peace and security in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea and in the seas and oceans as a whole through academic interaction and co-operation. It is the first legal journal in English/French in Iran and in the Middle East Region that deals with uses of seas and oceans from the perspective of law and policy.

The global issue of Sustainable marine fisheries is considered as common concern to humankind. The emergence and persistence of noncompliant fisheries practices conveniently labelled ‘Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing’ (IUU fishing), is of particular concern for the international community, regional fisheries management organizations and coastal states. The International Tribunal for Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in its first full-bench Advisory Opinion in 2015 found that Arts. 62(4), 58(3), 192 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) contain obligations for a flag state to ensure that vessels flying their flags do not engage in illegal fishing in the exclusive economic zones of coastal states. By this explanation, the Advisory Opinion initially has clarified the inadequate international fisheries law regime through ITLOS interpretive approach, which this paper attempts to examine by applying an exact legal scrutiny. The framework set by the Tribunal may allow States affected by IUU fishing, to exert greater pressure on flag states, particularly flag states of convenience, that do not comply with their responsibilities under UNCLOS. This paper suggests that the regulations on IUU fishing under international law should be enhanced and revised in order to draw an appropriate solution suitable for sustainable fisheries management.

All various functions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) can be categorized into two types: legislation and regulation. IMO’s regulatory function includes different processes with various objectives, principles, and mechanisms. This study investigates one of the main IMO regulatory tools, namely, the Mandatory Audit Scheme of its Member States, by studying its objectives, principles, and processes. In general, this regulatory tool has evolved in the historical course of its formation, transforming from a self-reporting tool to a voluntary and then a mandatory one. The Mandatory audit process is also performed based on specific principles. Accordingly, each flag, coastal, and port state has unique responsibilities in addition to their general duties. Overall, the tool contributes to enhancing accountability of IMO Member States regarding their obligations under IMO Conventions. Moreover, it helps the governments identify problems regarding law enforcement as well as applicable maritime safety and environmental standards, including issues that have helped IMO develop its capacity to meet its objectives.

Today, there is a need for a new approach toward the sea and sea-based sustainable development. Alfred Mahan, by presenting the theory of Sea Power, made the politicians pay special attention to the sea and navigation. To present the theory of Maritime Civilization, a theory building framework was used. The framework includes three steps, from the Descriptive stage (Observation, Categorization, and Association), to the Normative stage, based on the theoretical basis of the research. The present study, while confirming the positive points of the Alfred Mahan''s Sea Power theory, criticized the nature of thoughts behind the theory. By extracting the necessary terms from literature and research background confirming the positive and negative points of the Sea Power theory and by considering the framework of theory building in Management Science research, a theory called "Maritime Civilization" was presented instead of the Sea Power theory. The results of the study indicated that Sea Power theory has good positive points, however, Alfred Mahan''s approach to the sea is an authoritarian and domineering perspective that, firstly, contradicts values and ethics; secondly, the present discussions about sustainable development and the Green Environment criticize the Sea Power theory. Thus, the theory of Maritime Civilization is presented, according to which the maritime civilization is a civilization in which the intellectual, scientific, industrial, social, economic and political movements are created in conjunction with the sea and the marine environment. Using a set of capacities and resources, this civilization seeks to enjoy a sustainable sea exploitation in order to turn the human and the marine community into a peaceful community. This is a preliminary theory, and for assessing its validity, the views of five experts from the Marine Science universities were used, which necessitates further investigation by other researchers in the future

According to statistics, more than 80% percent of the world’s goods are transferred by merchant ship lines. As reported by the latest statistics 11 billion tons of goods are transported by ship each year. Hence, the global economy is dependent on maritime transport, and its lack causes countries to face a crisis. Therefore, the establishment of decent work in the environments of merchant ships for seafarers has fundamental importance. Merchant ships of the world that are registered in more than 150 countries employ more than 1.5 million seafarers. In this study, using a descriptive-analytical method, the findings of this study show that the Maritime Labor Convention enacted minimum standards for the living and working environment for seafarers at the international level. In fact, this convention is considered the fourth pillar of maritime international regulation that was created to help in establishing a situation for decent work. In addition, the convention expresses fundamental rights and principles that seafarers face in relation to the condition of work and living onboard. Therefore, they have rights that should be observed by ship owners and the state flag is binding to confirm the situation of ships to the requirements of the convention. In addition, in decent maritime work, seafarers have a job, and they will be entitled to have the right of social support. In other words, other factors in the environment, including freedom of assembly and of association, the prohibition of discrimination in employment, the observance of the minimum age, the prohibition of children under 16, the minimum wage proportional to the minimum subsistence, the existence of social security, unemployment insurance, rehabilitation, empowerment of women through the acquisition of appropriate job opportunities and the existence of social dialogue between the employer, the employee, and the government is also mandatory.

Localization of sustainable development goals could reasonably provide a framework to how local and regional governments meet their requirements in respective jurisdictions. Due to the importance of the environment protection in the process of the “sustainable development”, it is crucial for the states to include sustainable development goals in their regulations, laws and policies. In this perspective, presenting new approaches is utterly requested to protect the maritime environment of the Persian Gulf from destruction and degradation. Undoubtedly, there are a number of challenges and obstacles regarding the localization of SDGs in this region that the present paper will examine the strategies for addressing them. In fact, if environmental rules are internalized as a part of the domestic legal system, they will become more prominent and will be more respected. For this reason, one of the fundamental goals of this paper is to elaborate a suitable methodology to explain and design localized indicators of development sustainability at the regional level of the Persian Gulf. The main goals of sustainable development are to attain durable development in maritime areas in which efforts are made to provide a balance between economy, community and the marine environment.

In today's world, countries choose to pursue their own interests in foreign policy, the most common and least cost of which is diplomacy, which, as an independent tool, is widely used in intergovernmental relations. In the discussion of environmental problems and protection of the marine environment, diplomacy is also considered a tool to advance the goals and interests of governments.In this article, the descriptive and analytical method of environmental diplomacy from conflict to cooperation is studied and analyzed. This research seeks to explain the pattern in the context of environmental diplomacy from conflict to cooperation. The findings of this study indicate that environmental challenges both on land and in the seas and oceans arise from climate change, changing rainfall patterns, expanding industry and agriculture, population growth, reducing resources, and increasing conflicts over natural resources and foundations. Biological, exploitation of natural resources in the form of deforestation, Desertification and uncontrolled marine hunting, use of various toxins to combat plant and animal pests to disturb the ecological balance and degradation of the aquatic and terrestrial environment on a local, regional, national, regional and global scale.Therefore, the need for environmental diplomacy to identify common threats and dangers to the global environment and efforts in the form of common commitments and to deal with these threats and dangers and to protect the environment and resources on Earth, the need for environmental diplomacy is inevitable.Environmental protection is also essential for the sustainable development of the seas. From this perspective, maritime and environmental diplomacy complements macro-diplomacy and provides policymakers with a wide range of tools and options. Finally, the activation of maritime and environmental diplomacy is an effective step towards sustainable development, especially sustainable maritime development in coastal countries.