The Estonian Straits: Exceptions to the Strait Regime of Innocent or Transit Passage

In The Estonian Straits, Alexander Lott establishes the interrelations between the main legal categories of straits. Through this detailed and exceptional account, he provides legal classifications for the Viro Strait in the Gulf of Finland as well as the Irbe Strait and the Sea of Straits in the Gulf of Riga. Consequently, the passage rights of foreign ships and aircrafts in the northeastern part of the Baltic Sea are determined. The author demonstrates that the legal regime of the Estonian Straits has been and continues to be determined by such factors as the outer limits of maritime zones, treaties, islands, maritime boundary delimitation, domestic law on internal waters and baselines as well as geopolitical implications (particularly the concept of State continuity).

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction Part 1: The Legal Categories of Straits  1 Interpretation of the Legal Categories of Straits under the losc  2 The Legal Regimes of Historic Straits, Ice-covered Straits and Sui Generis Straits  3 The Determinants of the Legal Categories of Straits Part 2: The Significance of Maritime Boundary Delimitation for the Legal Regime of the Estonian Straits 1 The Estonian-Russian Territorial Sea Boundary Delimitation in the Gulf of Finland  1 The Maritime Area in the Gulf of Finland Subject to Delimitation between Estonia and the Russian Federation  2 Pre-existing Agreements Pertaining to the Delimitation of the Maritime Area  3 Estonian-Russian Negotiations on the Maritime Boundary in the Gulf of Finland  4 Delimitation of the Territorial Sea by the Equidistance-Special Circumstances Rule  5 The Significance of Islands for the Maritime Boundary Delimitation and for the Viro Strait’s Legal Regime 2 The Boundary Delimitation between Finland and the Soviet Union in the Gulf of Finland  1 emsp;The Existence of the Russian eez in the Gulf of Finland  2 emsp;The Acknowledgment of the Existence of the Russian eez in the Gulf of Finland 3 The Estonian-Latvian Boundary Delimitation in the Gulf of Riga  1 The Estonian-Latvian Negotiations on the Maritime Boundary in the Gulf of Riga  2 Pre-existing Agreements Pertaining to the Delimitation of the Maritime Area  3 Pre-Existing Agreements on the Status of Ruhnu Island  4 The Status of Ruhnu Island under Article 7(1) of the losc  5 Delimitation in the Gulf of Riga  6 The eez in the Gulf of Riga Part 3: The Significance of the Outer Limits of Maritime Zones for the Legal Regime of the Estonian Straits 1 The Irbe Strait in the Gulf of Riga  1 The Characteristics of the Irbe Strait  2 Straits of the Gulf of Riga Linking Two Parts of an eez  3 The Domestic Law of Estonia and Latvia on the Passage Rights of Warships and Other Foreign Vessels Used for National Non-commercial Purposes  4 The Legal Framework Applicable to the Irbe Strait  5 The Legal Framework Applicable to the Irbe Strait de lege ferenda 2 The Viro Strait in the Gulf of Finland  1 The Characteristics of the Viro Strait  2 The 1994 Agreement on the eez Corridor in the Gulf of Finland and Its Impact on the Domestic Legislation of Estonia and Finland  3 The eez Corridor in the Viro Strait under Articles 35(b) and 36 of the losc  4 The Viro Strait in the Context of a Potential Transit Passage Regime Part 4: The Significance of Long-Standing Treaties and the Legal Regime of Sui Generis Straits for the Viro Strait  1 The Legal Framework of the Viro Strait under Previous International Agreements  2 The Estonian Supreme Court’s 1932 Interpretation of the Purpose of the 1925 Treaty between Estonia, Finland and the Soviet Union  3 The Soviet Union’s Reaction to the 1932 Judgment and the Following Decision of the Estonian Government on the Freedom of Navigation in the Gulf of Finland  4 The Legal Effect of the 1925 and 1926 Trilateral Treaties from 1940 to 1991  5 The Relationship of the 1994 Agreement on the eez Corridor to the 1925 and 1926 Trilateral Treaties Prior to Finland’s 2010 Withdrawal  6 The Termination of the 1925 and 1926 Trilateral Treaties Part 5: The Significance Of Domestic Law On the Internal Waters and State Continuity for the Legal Regime of the Sea of Straits  1 The Characteristics of the Sea of Straits  2 The Sea of Straits under the Potential Regime of Transit Passage  3 The Domestic Law of Estonia on Passage Rights in the Sea of Straits  4 The Sea of Straits as Non-international Straits  5 The Applicability of the Messina Exception to the Sea of Straits Conclusion  A The Legal Categories of Straits and Their Interrelationship  B The Significance of Outer Limits of Maritime Zones for the Legal Regime of the Estonian Straits  C The Significance of Long-standing International Conventions and Sui Generis Passage Regimes for the Estonian Straits  D The Significance of Islands and Domestic Law on the Internal Waters for the Legal Regime of the Estonian Straits  E The Significance of Maritime Boundary Delimitation and State Continuity for the Legal Regime of the Estonian Straits Annex 1. Maps  1 The eez Corridor in the Gulf of Finland  2 The high seas corridor in the Gulf of Finland under the 1925 and 1926 agreements  3 The 3-nm-wide territorial sea of Estonia in 1923  4 The 12-nm-wide maritime zone of Estonia in 1923  5 The maritime boundary between Estonia and Latvia  6 Latvia’s eez and the potential eez corridor in the Gulf of Riga  7 The Russian federation’s eez in the Gulf of Finland  8 Maritime boundary between Estonia and the Russian federation Annex 2. Historical Treaties  1 The 1925 Helsinki Convention for the Suppression of the Contraband Traffic in Alcoholic Liquors and its Protocol  2 The 1925 Helsinki Agreement between Estonia, Finland and the Soviet Union  3 The 1926 Moscow Protocol Bibliography  Monographs, Articles etc.  League of Nations and United Nations Publications  Chronological List of Explanatory Notes and Stenographic Records  Maritime Authorities’ Publications  Newspaper Articles and Press Releases  Miscellaneous Chronological Table of International Instruments  Treaties  International Maritime Organization Instruments  Chronological List of Declarations Table of National Legislation  Denmark’s Legislation  Estonia’s Legislation  Finland’s Legislation  Germany’s Legislation  Latvia’s Legislation  The Russian Federation’s Legislation  Sweden’s Legislation Files of the Estonian National Archives Chronological Table of Cases Chronological List of Maps Index