Transnational Shipments of Nuclear Materials by Sea: Do Current Safeguards Provide Coastal States a Right to Deny Innocent Passage
![handle is hein.journals/jtrnlwp16 and id is 79 raw text is: TRANSNATIONAL SHIPMENTS OF NUCLEAR
MATERIALS BY SEA: DO CURRENT SAFEGUARDS
PROVIDE COASTAL STATES A RIGHT TO DENY
INNOCENT PASSAGE?
DAVID B. DIxoN*
I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................... 73
II. RECENT CONTROVERSIES IN MARITIME SHIPPING OF
NUCLEAR MATERIAL ................................................. 74
A. Prohibition of Innocent Passage ............................... 76
B. Legitimate Safety Concerns of Coastal States ............ 78
III. THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN INTERNATIONAL
LAW ....................................................................... 80
A. Codification of the Precautionary Principle .............. 82
IV. SAFEGUARDS FOR MARITIME SHIPPING OF NUCLEAR
M ATERIALS ............................................................... 86
A. IAEA Safeguards ................................................ 86
B. IMO Safeguards .................................................. 90
V. UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE
SEA ......................................................................... 9 1
A. INNOCENT PASSAGE .............................................. 92
B. Protection of the Marine Environment ...................... 93
VI. D ISCUSSION ............................................................. 97
VII. CONCLUSION ........................................................... 99
I. INTRODUCTION
The maritime transport of nuclear materials has created a con-
flict between two international law regimes: the United Nations
International Law of the Sea' (UNCLOS), and the developing cus-
tomary law of the precautionary principle in international envi-
ronmental law. This conflict became apparent in recent years
when several coastal states denied passage to ships transporting
* LLM Candidate May 2007, International and Comparative Law, The George Washington
University Law School; J.D., Suffolk University Law School; B.A., International Relations,
University of North Carolina.
1. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Dec. 10, 1982, 1833 U.N.T.S 397
(entered into force Nov. 16, 1994), available at http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention
agreements/texts/unclos/closindx.htm [hereinafter UNCLOS].](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jtrnlwp16&div=7&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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