ENFORCEMENT JURISDICTION IN THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE - THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE

The emergence of the exclusive economic zone concept radically altered ocean management, offering Third World states an unprecedented opport unity to increase national income, raise foreign exchange earnings, an d improve national diets. India, following many other states, hesitant ly claimed the new-found jurisdiction while the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea was still in session and the adoption of an intern ationally agreed convention was nowhere in sight. Having had no cohesi ve oceans policy since attaining independence, India was, like many ot her developing nations, totally ill-equipped to enforce the new rights and assume obligations in its vast maritime zones because this type o f competence was being assumed for the first time in the maritime hist ory of the country. This article discusses the legislation enacted, in stitutional arrangements devised, the scheme of enforcement envisaged, and how various difficulties were resolved in order to enforce laws d esigned to protect India's national interests. Also, an evaluation is made as to the adequacy of these efforts, indicating pertinent lessons learned.