ABSTRACT
The states party to UNCLOS and the underlying conventions are the primary legislators, the obligated, the obligees, and the enforcers of those rules; however, private entities are, in many cases, the addressees or rights holders under the convention, either de facto or de jure. The chapter introduces some of these aspects and gives, by introducing the further contributions on the matter, examples of how private actors may appear as co-regulators, formal addressees, or even de facto enforcers under the Law of the Sea. The chapter focuses on how private actors may operate in the context of treaty-based law and points out that LOS relies heavily on the private actor for its effectiveness. Whereas this is not in itself problematic, the chapter questions to what extent it is reasonable that states rely on private actors for the enforcement of the public interest.
