The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC 1982) was adopted in 1982 and entered into force in 1994. It currently has 170 parties. According to the Preamble, the Parties recognized the “desirability of establishing through this Convention, with due regard for the sovereignty of all States, a legal order for the seas and oceans which will facilitate international communication, and will promote the peaceful uses of the seas and oceans, the equitable and efficient utilization of their resources, the conservation of their living resources, and the study, protection and preservation of the marine environment.” Often referred to as “a constitution for the oceans” (Gavouneli 2007: 1; Churchill 2015: 44), the 17 Parts of the Convention deal with everything from establishing different maritime zones (Parts I–VI) and rules for the high seas and deep seabed area (Parts VII and XI), to provisions dealing with the protection of the marine environment (Part XII), marine scientific research (Part XIII) and dispute resolution (Part XV). The LOSC is a framework Convention in the sense that it contemplates that it will be further elaborated through bilateral, regional and multilateral instruments.