An Analysis of the Laws of the Maritime Zones of the United Arab Emirates in the Light of the International Law of the Seas: The instance of Iran's territorial interests

This research explains the differences and ambiguities of the UAE Maritime Zones Laws with the International Convention on the Law of the Sea by comparing the UAE's 1993 Maritime Zones Law and other maritime laws of this state with the provisions of the 1982 International Convention on the Law of the Sea. The current research was fundamental-applicative in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of nature and method. The data collection has been done with the library research and the available documents. The maritime laws of the UAE, the text of the Convention on the International Law of the Sea, the statements of the United Arab Emirates based on the documents of the United Nations have been studied and reviewed. The findings of the research showed that most of the UAE laws were derived from the text and content of the convention. The UAE Maritime Law on how to draw straight baselines and in Articles (2) (Application of the law of internal waters for islands that are 12 miles apart), (5) (exceptions mentioned for innocent passage); (7) (expansion of the territorial sea in the exclusive economic zone); (10) (security jurisdiction in the contiguous zone), and (26) (imprisonment punish for violation of the provisions in maritime zones) of the Maritime Zones Act of 1993 are different from the Convention or are ambiguous and disputed by states. The way the UAE's baselines are drawn has an important impact on the maritime jurisdiction of opposite and adjacent states, including Iran.