United nations convention on the law of the sea contents page preamble 21 part i introduction 22 article 1 use of terms and scope 22 part ii territorial sea and contiguous . The united nations convention on the law of the sea unclos also called the law of the sea convention or the law of the sea treaty is an international agreement that resulted from the third united nations conference on the law of the sea unclos iii which took place between 1973 and 1982 the law of the sea convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to . The united nations convention on the law of the sea was opened for signature at montego bay jamaica on 10 december 1982 it entered into force on 14 november 1994 and is presently binding for 154 states as well as the european community as of 24 july 2008 it is considered the constitution of the oceans and represents the result of an unprecedented and so far never replicated . Stanford libraries official online search tool for books media journals databases government documents and more. United nations convention on the law of the sea at thirty reflections series law of the sea the 10 dec 2012 on the occasion of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the opening for signature of the 1982 united nations convention on the law of the sea delegates of the third united nations conference on the law of the sea overwhelmingly responded to the request from the legal counsel