Territorial Waters - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition territorial-waters

Definition :

Territorial waters. This expression is used with regard to that portion of the sea, upto a limited distance, which is immediately adjacent to the shores of any country, and over which the sovereignty and exclusive jurisdiction of that country extends. The generally recognized limit is three miles, which was the range of canon in the seventeenth century (see Grotius). Territorial waters are considered as territory to the extent that fishing in such waters is reserved for the exclusive benefit of the subjects of the adjacent country. See the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act, 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c. 73), passed in consequence of the decision in R. v. Keyn, (1876) 2 Ex D 63.

Territorial waters shall have the same meaning as in s. 3 of the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (80 of 1976). [Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (53 of 1972), s. 2 (30A)]