The Law of the Sea: The Role of the Irish Delegation at the Third UN Conference

This is the first book to present a narrative account, from the point of view of the Irish delegation, of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, which ran from 1973 to 1982. Over 150 nations participated in the Conference, which marked a major international effort to define the rights and duties of nations in the use of the world's oceans. Ireland played a key role in achieving international consensus on many of the intractable issues addressed at the Conference. The book presents an important case study of how a small, but effective, delegation from a relatively small country prepared for a major multilateral conference and developed and executed its national marine policy in a large conference with a complex and comprehensive agenda. Its focus is mainly on the issues at the Conference in which Ireland had a significant interest and/or in which the delegation played an active role. "The book is a rare treat in terms of the realities of negotiations at a global level on a multifaceted topic, which involved conflicting national objectives, complex legal, economic and technical matters, and the necessity of compromise." International Journal of Maritime History, June 2012, Vol. XXIV, No. 1