Act on the Marine Areas of Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea (1993) and the LOS Convention: Balancing Adaptabilities and Insufficiencies in the Light of Current LOS Developments

I.R. Iran in not a State party to the UNCOLS, yet the Act on the Marine Areas of Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea (1993) (hereinafter called “the Act”) has been so largely inspired thereby that in many stipulations a thorough adaptability is observable. The Act entails domestic rules and regulations pertaining to Iranian sovereignty and jurisdiction upon its marine areas and triggers relevant rights and obligations on foreign States and International institutions within those areas. However, The Act as an outstanding lawmaking milestone in Iran, has been drafted and devised thoughtfully and skillfully, taking into account the existing and possible developments in the arena of international law of the sea, despite the fact that Iran’s non-membership to the UNCLOS is a major challenge within that arena. This paper seeks to analyze the stipulations set forth in the Act as to what extent they share consistencies or entail inconsistencies with the current development of the international law of the sea and namely the UNCLOS.