In this book, the exposition of the Common Heritage of Humanity as a fundamental principle of international law gives a view of the "deep blue sea", which the author describes through the politics of international ocean law and policy. The book argues why - and how - the Common Heritage principle is an important ingredient in any global programme for sustainable development. This work offers an intellectual and moral challenge to legal philosophers and practitioners alike, in the ocean arena and beyond.
Part 1 International law in an unequal world: inequality in the international community; world inequality and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Part 2 The common heritage of humanity and world inequality: the common heritage of humanity - a legal pre-history; beyond "mare liberum" and "mare clausum" - the common heritage of humanity as a fundamental principle of international law; the institutional element of the common heritage principle - towards and interactional organization for sustainable development?