ABSTRACT
The legal status of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was the subject of one of the most thorny controversies waged. The earliest antecedents of the EEZ are to be found in the declarations of sovereignty and jurisdiction over waters within a 200-mile limit, made by certain Latin American states. The EEZ is a part of the high seas subject to a special regime, under which the respective coastal states enjoy certain exclusive rights listed in the convention. Precisely because of the coastal state's functional sovereignty in economic matters and the exclusive nature of its specialized Jurisdiction over the EEZ, the EEZ may be considered as a zone of national jurisdiction. In the EEZ, in contrast, several of the basic freedoms of the high seas disappear, in particular the freedom of fishing, other freedoms relating to the exploration and exploitation of resources, and the freedom of scientific research. In the 1982 convention the contiguous zone is subsumed in the EEZ.
