Innocent passage

The right of innocent passage is to pass through peacefully for trade as for warships applicable law, the territorial sea or archipelagic waters of a foreign state. It is subject to a few restrictions. However, the establishment of shipping lanes and traffic separation schemes remains the coastal State reserved. There are also other obligations of the drive-through ends. So underwater vehicles must drive appeared and flagged. Special conditions apply to straits, where is also the further right of transit passage under certain circumstances or internal waters may be passed through. In contrast to the ordinary territorial sea the right of innocent passage may also not be temporarily restricted.

The right of innocent passage first developed in parallel with the common law right of coastal States to claim sovereignty over the territorial sea, which goes back to De dominio maris Bynkershoeks dissertatio from 1702. In 1958, the right of innocent passage in the Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone was first codified in 1982 and further elaborated in the Convention of the United Nations and extended to the new Institute of the archipelago waters.