Debates Over US Ratification of UNCLOS

As we begin digging more deeply into the conclusion of treaties, and what it means to sign but not ratify a treaty, you might consider the debate that has been going on over the last few months about whether the United States should ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The U.S. signed the Convention in 1994, when it came into force, and there are currently 161 other countries that are party to the Convention. But there has been continued resistance in the Senate to ratifying the Convention. The Obama administration began the process this year of obtaining Senate advice and consent to ratify the treaty, but it has not yet been put to a vote.

Here is the beginning of a legal debate on the pros and cons of ratification by the U.S.