The Law of the Sea is codified in various international conventions. Upon their ratification by the respective national constitutional bodies, these treaties become effective domestic law, as they are in Germany. Besides binding their signatory states to bi- or multilateral obligations, many treaty clauses also produce indirect effects on businesses.
A special matter within the context of the Law of the Sea is Deep Sea Mining, a subject with a promising future, located in a field of tension between strategic safeguarding of resources and yet-to-be-answered questions of environmental protection. ISA, the International Seabed Authority, created by the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea, is in charge of granting exploration rights, and will in future also grant mining rights, for raw materials from the sea floor in areas outside national jurisdiction.
Since at least the adoption of the „Sustainable Development Goals“ (SDG) by the United Nations in 2015, the demand for a sustainable use of the oceans and their resources has obtained a prominent place on the political agenda. For the first time in 25 years this may entail a supplement to the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea.