Foreword
Since the beginning of recorded history, the oceans have been a key resource for humankind. Whether as a source of sustenance or an efficient means of transportation, the waters of the globe have been essential to the prosperity of nations and their peoples — and, as a result, the source of conflict.The first attempt to undertake a rule of law for the seas was by Dutchman Hugo de Grotius, whose Freedom of the Seas Doctrine in 1609 stipulated that the open seas belonged to no nation. Since the limitations of naval power at the time prevented any nation from truly…
