Maritime

Despite UNCLOS serving as the primary legal framework governing maritime conduct, challenges remain in effectively embedding human rights principles, ethical governance and inclusivity within its implementation, especially in geopolitically sensitive regions such as Malay Indo Archipelago. This raises the question of how fundamental legal traditions, such as those found in 15 th century Undang-Undang Melaka, a customary maritime code emphasizing human dignity, ethical conducts, and inclusive community governance- can highly inform and enrich contemporary international maritime law. The problem lies in the apparent disconnect between modern state centered ethical governance regimes and the human centered ethical governance principles that underpin long lasting peace. This study critically examines how the human right norms embedded in the Undang- Undang Melaka align with or differ from those in UNCLOS, arguing that the incorporation of these ethical and inclusive governance principle is crucial for fostering maritime cooperation, trust, and ultimately geopolitical peace. By exploring these normative intersections through a qualitative legal analysis, the research aims to demonstrate that the revitalization of customary law’s humanistic maritime governance, promoting more equitable and peaceful relations among maritime states. 

Topic and Significance of the Discussion: The Islamic Republic of Iran boasts 190,000 square kilometers of maritime territory and over 5,800 kilometers of coastline, with approximately 40% of its borders being maritime. A crucial element in the realm of marine defense diplomacy is the enhancement of maritime defense capabilities, which includes extending the presence of naval fleets beyond territorial waters and into international waters. Consequently, the Supreme Leader has consistently emphasized the importance of leveraging maritime resources and strengthening naval forces. The central research question is: What are the regional and transregional security policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the maritime domain, and what achievements have been realized in pursuit of maritime-oriented development? Results: The regional and transregional security policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran can be demonstrated through the enhancement of its strategic naval force, which consists of both the Navy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, each playing a complementary role. This policy yields several key outcomes: it allows for the display of the Islamic Republic of Iran's flag in distant waters, ensures the security of Iranian commercial ships and oil tankers to promote sustainable international maritime security, and safeguards Iran's interests in strategically important waters. Additionally, it showcases the naval force's capability to operate wherever the nation's interests dictate. The policy also aims to send messages of peace and friendship globally while countering narratives of Iranophobia. It enhances combat capabilities, broadens the operational reach of naval units, and evaluates Iran's readiness and self-sufficiency in the realms of science and technology. The policy maintains a presence in targeted waters despite facing comprehensive economic and military sanctions and allows for the acquisition of valuable experiences in navigation and international maritime law by traversing critical, heavily trafficked international straits and waterways. Furthermore, it facilitates the collection of intelligence regarding the combat readiness and deployment status of transregional forces, broadens the scope of Iran's diplomatic efforts, and establishes security to promote trade in both regional and international contexts. This, in turn, fosters economic activity and supports maritime-oriented development.

Background and Theoretical Basis: In today's world, due to the relatively complex procedures of judicial proceedings in national and international courts, the use of arbitration for the resolution of disputes is expanding. International maritime arbitration has a special place because more than 90 percent of goods and maritime trade is carried out by sea and ships, and this type of arbitration has been identified as a special category of arbitration in the guidelines of the International Bar Association (IBA). Relatively few law firms specialize in maritime arbitration and there is a need to pay attention to the resolution of disputes between shipping companies at the national and international levels, given the high volume of international trade. Methods: In this research, using a descriptive-analytical method, the identification of the parties and the entry of a third party into the arbitration of maritime disputes were studied and analyzed. This article aims to analyze and discuss the approaches adopted by arbitral tribunals and courts regarding the legal status of non-signatory parties in the context of the two main centers of maritime arbitration: London and New York.   Findings and Conclusion: As a matter of principle, only parties who have executed an arbitration agreement will be bound by it. However, there are exceptions where parties may be allowed to refer to or be forced to arbitrate even though they have not signed an arbitration agreement.  In the maritime industry, the issue of determining whether an arbitration clause is binding on third parties is critical. The structure of this section is susceptible to disputes involving non-signatories. Usually, maritime contracts are concluded by third parties in the framework of agency relationships, and contracts are assigned. Also, whether bills of lading can bind the holder to the charter party's arbitration clause is often disputed. The complexity of today's maritime trade has resulted in operators such as ship-owners, charterers, and cargo owners often operating in a corporate group structure where affiliates in specific business areas are interrelated and sometimes operate as an organization. "Front" for other companies.