Dinamika Kepentingan Negara Maju-Berkembang dalam Hukum Kelautan: dari UNCLOS I Sampai UNCLOS III

The creation of a new, codified form of international law of the seas cannot be separated from the dynamics of the countries that participate in its formation. One of the conflicts that emerged in the negotiation process of UNCLOS is the conflicting interests between developing countries and developed countries. Developed states often possess more advanced technology and sufficient capital, thus their interests are different compared to developing states that typically lack such access. This study found that the dynamics between developed and developing states are readily apparent in the formation of UNCLOS 1982, especially in formulating the limits of territorial seas and provisions regarding deep seabed mining. Negotiations of UNCLOS I and II were still dominated by the interests of developed countries and strong maritime countries, thus the resulting legal products tended to affirm the traditional maritime legal regime that was biased towards the interests of developed countries. However during the UNCLOS III negotiating process, the number of developing, newly independent states, especially in the African continent increased rapidly, and they emerged with collective awareness to fight for their collective interests against the dominance of the interests of developed states. This was reflected in the resulting legal product, namely UNCLOS 1982, which forwarded relatively revolutionary concepts such as the principles of Common Heritage of Mankind. However, UNCLOS 1982 was initially not accepted by powerful, developed countries, which, despite their smaller numbers possess disproportionately greater influence. These led to the formation of the 1994 Implementation Agreeement which changed several provisions of Part XI UNCLOS 1982 to be more conducive to the interests of developed countries.