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The ISPS Code

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The horrific images of the September 11, 2001 attack in the United States is often what comes into mind when we talk about terrorism.   It has shown that no state in the world is impervious to terrorism and that any mode of transportation can be used to carry out terrorism and can be facilitated anywhere.   The 9/11 attack and other incident in the maritime environment such as the hijacking of Achille Lauro prompted the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to moved swiftly to close the perceived security gaps in maritime security.   Several conventions have been crafted and signed and other countries have unilaterally introduced laws to protect their ports and ships such as the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002 in the United States.   But one international convention that touted to address maritime security concerns is the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code.   At the wake of proliferation of terro...
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Mare Clausum and Mare Liberium in the Philippine Setting

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One of the earliest foundation for the development of modern international law might be the rules governing the use of the sea during medieval times.   Two opposing views or concepts on the use of the sea have sprung over the seizure of a Portuguese carrack by Dutch East India Company in Southeast Asia in 1603 due to the determination of Dutch to challenge the control of Portuguese over the waters of East Indies or South Asia.   This led to publication of anonymous treatise titled mare liberium written by Hugo Grotius in 1609 espousing the use of any flag state of any state’s territorial waters but refuted by John Selden in 1635 with his treatise titled mare clausum advocating that territorial waters of any state can only be sailed by its own ships.   Over the years these two concepts have heavily influenced international law especially the formation of the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC) in 1982 which identified different maritime zones in governing th...
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