ABSTRACT
The Mediterranean Sea1 has been known by a number of alternative names
throughout human history. During Roman times it was commonly referred to as
the mare nostrum and from this it may be implied that it was to a certain extent also a mare clausum. Nowadays, and conversely, the Mediterranean coastline which extends for approximately 46,000 kilometres is shared by 21 states, includ-
ing the UK.2 It is noteworthy that states bordering the Mediterranean form part of
three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia with different cultures, religions and
levels of economic development. The – limited – Mediterranean is also an inter-
national waterway linking nowadays the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean; and both
of them with the Black Sea, and is also due to the slow exchange of waters through
the strait of Gibraltar at great risk of pollution. Another important characteristic
of the Mediterranean is that it is composed of a number of sub-seas which
are either indented inside the continent – e.g. the Adriatic – or situated between
a continent and a group of islands – e.g. the Tyrrhenian Sea. The various sub-seas
show however different levels of autonomy and this consideration may be impor-
tant when trying to answer which sub-sea, if any, qualifi es as a juridical enclosed
or semi-enclosed sea on the basis of Part IX of UNCLOS.3
