Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021

Public bill · Government · Presented

Sets out Ireland’s maritime boundaries and powers in one new law, replacing older rules that are spread across the Continental Shelf Act 1968 and the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006. It clarifies where the territorial sea, internal waters, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf begin and end, and confirms the State’s rights over the seabed, resources and installations in those areas, while also allowing certain criminal and civil cases to apply on Irish ships and offshore structures. It matters because it updates Ireland’s sea-law framework and aligns it more closely with the UN law of the sea.

Formal long title

Bill entitled an Act to make provision in respect of the maritime jurisdiction of the State and for that purpose to give effect to certain provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982; to provide for the repeal of sections 2 and 3 of the Continental Shelf Act 1968 and Part 3 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006; and to provide for related matters.

Last updated 11 September 2024