ABSTRACT
During the period of Ottoman Empire the issue of the breadth of territorial sea had not been subject of an administrative or legislative act of a general nature. The Ottoman Empire had not asserted general sovereign jurisdiction over a territorial sea belt adjacent to Ottoman territory, in the contemporary meaning of the plenary maritime jurisdiction.
With a regulation dated 1883 concerning fisheries in the Ottoman waters, fishing in the coastal waters were prohibited within 3 nautical miles of the coasts.
However, at the outset of the First World War, in 1914, upon request from Turkish General Staff a notification had been given to the Foreign Embassies by the Sublime Port that the territorial waters of the Empire could be extended up to 3 to 6 nautical miles in areas where certain military facilities and fortified areas were located. This action obviously had been as a security precaution in view of the prevailing circumstances in time of war.
With the sole exception of Fisheries Regulation of 1883, which was a special legislation dealing with a specific and limited issue of fishing, the breadth of the Ottoman territorial sea had not been addressed in an exclusive legislation having general effects in this respect.
