@izabsmiling wrote:
http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part2.htm
Does anyone know why Asylum seeker boats can't claim 'Innocent Passage' ?
Whether Australia can legally stop a boat with asylum seekers travelling to Australia depends on precisely where the vessel is intercepted.
Australia has limited rights over boats sailing in the sea between Australia and Indonesia. Both countries are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Under this convention, the sea is divided into maritime zones.
Australia has jurisdiction over an area 12 nautical miles from the Australian shoreline (including the mainland and territories such as Christmas Island and the Ashmore Reef), which is in effect part of Australia and is known as the 'territorial sea'.
Foreign vessels have the right to 'innocent passage' through the territorial sea. Australia also has rights over a further 12 nautical miles of territory, which makes up the 'contiguous zone', within which Australia can exercise the control necessary to deal with infringement of "customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws" within Australia or its territorial sea.
While in theory Australia is legally able to stop, board and turn around vessels, the situation is complex. Australia is a signatory of the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. Under this and the Law of the Sea convention, Australia is obliged to render assistance to those in danger at sea.
Vessels carrying asylum seekers from Indonesia are often in poor condition and Australia is required to adhere to international safety at sea obligations. Occupants of an unseaworthy vessel cannot be left to their fate. There have also been incidents of boats being sabotaged requiring that the passengers be rescued. This possibility is acknowledged in the August 2012 Report of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers, which noted: "Irregular vessels carrying asylum seekers can often be quickly disabled or rendered unsafe to foil any attempted turn backs and to create a safety of life at sea situation".
The Abbott Government has said boats will only be turned back only "where it is safe to do so".
The Government can legally turn back asylum seeker boats provided it is safe to do so and they are intercepted within 24 nautical miles of the Australian coastline. It is clear that Australia cannot steer the boats into Indonesian waters, but exactly how close they can legally get to Indonesia is up for debate.
