Jurisdiction institutionalizes shipping regulation, rooted in State sovereignty. States act as flag, coastal, or port authorities. While UNCLOS prioritizes flag States’ jurisdiction, it also recognizes ports as enforcers of international maritime compliance and provides the legal foundation for State jurisdictions. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) creates treaties. The synergy between UNCLOS and IMO adapts the legal framework to emerging challenges. This paper examines the interplay between UNCLOS and IMO regulating MASS and its implications for port and coastal States’ responsibilities and navigational rights. This study assesses the navigational rights to MASS. While port States possess discretion in setting entry conditions, it discusses the legal basis of port State jurisdiction and key elements of autonomy. It explores the rights of semi- and fully autonomous ships to call at foreign ports and analyzes port States’ discretion in regulating MASS entry. Despite UNCLOS and IMO regulations hesitating to regulate ports directly, the advent of MASS operations necessitates port States’ role in ensuring compliance with international norms. This paper examines IMO’s mandate regarding the introduction of MASS. It questions whether IMO plays a proactive role in encouraging Member States, through developing Generally Accepted International Rules and Standards (GAIRS), to welcome such ships in ports.

The chapter considers the contribution of the ICJ to the law of the sea, highlighting four areas where the Court has made a key contribution to the development of the law: maritime delimitation cases, the status of islands and rocks, navigational rights in straits and lastly, the conservation of natural resources. The author notes that the Court’s influence is not equal in all of these areas, but emphasises the significant rule that the Court has played in developing the principles and rules of international law applicable to maritime boundary delimitations.

Future naval and air forces will be comprised increasingly of unmanned and autonomous systems. Nearly 100 nations and nonstate actors currently operate unmanned and autonomous systems to support combat operations. These platforms have proven their ability to enhance situational awareness and improve mission performance. Unmanned systems will be used to augment manned platforms and will conduct missions that are considered dull, dirty and dangerous, thereby reducing risk to human life at a reduced cost. Introduction of these systems and vehicles will require states to modify how they characterize these platforms under international law as ships, warships, commercial aircraft and state aircraft to ensure that they are able to legally perform the missions that they have been designed to perform. This will require filling gaps in domestic and international law and regulations to better regulate and control the employment of these systems in the marine environment to ensure safety of navigation and overflight and protection of the marine environment.