In The Regime of Islands Reframed, Clive Schofield examines the definition of islands and other insular features under the international law of the sea with particular reference to the South China Sea case between China and the Philippines which has served to reframe understanding of this contentious area of international law.

This ground-breaking book challenges legal orthodoxy, presenting an original approach to the treatment of islands in international law. It offers a new perspective on how to define islands in international law, questioning how they differ from other maritime features. It focuses on the contextual factors that bear upon the legal treatment of islands, recognising that, in practice, islands have varied and unequal impacts and arguing that greater focus on context is needed to understand legal outcomes, particularly those concerning maritime boundary delimitation.

Islands and their status in international law have become one of the more contentious issues in public international law. However, despite this, there is no contemporary book-length study on the question. This book fills that gap. Written by one of the world's leading public international lawyers, it offers an authoritative overview of how public international law operates in relation to islands. Key issues such as artificial islands, archipelagos, sovereignty, territorial rights, maritime entitlements, and governance are explored in depth. This will become a classic text in the field of international law.

Praise for the previous edition: “A complete overview of the subject which does not intimidate the reader but rather spurns interest and understanding in the subject.” European Energy and Environmental Law Review “...(the book is) scholarly yet accessible and very readable; thoroughly recommended.” Law Institute Journal Description The law of the sea provides for the regulation, management and governance of the ocean spaces that cover over two-thirds of the Earth's surface. This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the foundational principles of the law of the sea, a critical overview of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and an analysis of subsequent developments including many bilateral, regional, and global agreements that supplement the Convention. The third edition of this acclaimed text has been thoroughly revised and updated, and now incorporates a dedicated chapter on natural and artificial islands. All of the main areas of the law of the sea are addressed including the foundations and sources of the law, the nature and extent of the maritime zones, the delimitation of overlapping maritime boundaries, the place of archipelagic and other special states in the law of the sea, navigational rights and freedoms, military activities at sea, marine scientific research, and marine resource and conservation issues such as fisheries, marine environmental protection and dispute settlement. The book also takes stock of contemporary oceans governance issues not adequately addressed by the Convention. Overarching challenges facing the law of the sea are considered, including how new maritime security initiatives can be reconciled with traditional navigational rights and freedoms, the need for stronger legal and policy responses to protect the global ocean environment from climate change and ocean acidification, and work on a new agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

This new edition has been revised and updated to provide current and comprehensive coverage of essential issues of the international law of the sea in a systematic manner. This book presents two paradigms of the law of the sea: the law of divided oceans and the law of our common ocean. It covers contemporary issues, such as protection of the marine biological diversity, marine plastic pollution, the Arctic, and impacts of climate change on the oceans. Following the clear and accessible approach of previous editions, with many illustrations and tables, The International Law of the Sea continues to help students to best understand the law of the sea.

This definitive volume assembles more than twenty leading Indo-Pacific maritime scholars and emerging experts to deliver fresh perspectives on maritime cooperation and security. Topics include naval activities, law of the sea, environmental protection, international cooperation, and sub-regional maritime agendas.