The promulgation of the Law on Vietnamese sea is a very necessary and important legal event of the law-making process of the State of Vietnam in relation to the international treaties that Vietnam has signed or acceded to.
There are 3 reasons to explain this event, and it also shows the relationship between the Law on Vietnamese sea and the international Law of the Sea:
First: After signing the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982 (UNCLOS), in 1994, the National Assembly ratified it and officially became a member of the Convention. The rapid internalization of law, turning UNCLOS provisions into specific regulations is an inevitable requirement, which any country has the obligation to implement. Of course, all provisions of the Law on Vietnamese sea must not be contrary to the provisions of the international Law of the Sea, but only allowed to concretize the regulations and provisions of the international Law of the Sea.
Second: Before the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea signing UNCLOS 1982, to meet the needs of the State management of activities at sea, Vietnam has had legal documents on the sea, but it is not complete, comprehensive and not suitable to handle the growing relationship, socio-economic activities, national defense and security at sea, especially in a complicated dispute situation, those documents have not yet been met. Therefore, it is impossible not to have a national Law of the Sea to meet all those requirements and moreover, it also shows the responsibility and seriousness of Vietnam as an official member of the UNCLOS 1982.
Third: The current world trend is towards the sea and ocean. In fact, the exploitation of ocean resources, from maritime traffic, living and non-living resources, oil and gas exploitation is increasingly developing, bringing great benefits to the country, especially a coastal country like Vietnam which has a coastal country with a long coastline and wide sea. The cause of economic development associated with the task of protecting national sovereignty in the current situation requires Vietnam to reach out to the sea to exploit, protect and manage the sea is an indispensable requirement. If there is no timely law to regulate such activities in accordance with international law, in accordance with political and diplomatic relations in the region and countries, it will lead to conflicts, but the risk of conflict not only affects the region and the world, but also the interests of the country and people.
- Key word:
- Law on Vietnamese sea