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The International Section provides legal advice and assistance to NOAA and other federal agencies on the development, negotiation, interpretation, and application of customary and conventional international law, as well as domestic law relating to:
The Section’s legal services help assure that NOAA’s policy development and programmatic activities with respect to the marine environment are consistent with, and take into account, the Law of the Sea Convention and other applicable rules of international law. The International Section further helps NOAA pursue and protect the agency’s interests in the context of interagency and international processes. Finally, the Section is often called upon to review and help develop or amend domestic legislation.
The 1982 Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC) sets forth a comprehensive legal framework for the use and protection of the sea, the seabed and subsoil, and the marine environment, including both natural and cultural resources.
A precautionary approach to addressing threats to the environment can be traced back to domestic German law in the 1970s. It was first used in an international agreement in 1980. However, it was at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development that it received broad international recognition in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development of 1992.
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