Enforcing international Maritime Legislation on Air Pollution through UNCLOS

Enforcing International Maritime Legislation on Air Pollution through UNCLOS is a book written by Jesper Jarl Fanø and published in December 2019 by Hart Publishing, Oxford.
Synopsis
The book explores how the United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea (UNCLOS), in particular the special provisions found in part XII of the convention, can be applied to ensure effective enforcement of international legislation on Air Pollution adopted by the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO).
This includes enforcement of and sanctioning of the 0,5% sulphur cap of MARPOL Annex VI (IMO2020) which came into force 1 January 2020 and the proposed regulatory measures on Greenhouse Gasses (GHG) which the IMO is set to adopt in coming years, for example on the use of alternative fuels.
It is normally perceived that enforcement (which includes sanctioning of violations) of international maritime regulations, especially environmental rules on air pollution, that occur on the high seas, fall upon the ships flag State. However, some (flag) States fail to live up to. These are also known as the so-called flags of convenience. The book lays out that UNCLOS does entail a jurisdictional basis for port States to exercise jurisdiction outside own waters, including on the high seas. This allows, when certain criteria are met, to sanction violations of the IMO 2020 sulphur cap with dissuasive fines, including confiscating all achieved savings, also those achieved on the high seas.
The book studies how other regulatory aspects of the IMO 2020 sulphur cap can be implemented and enforced in accordance with UNCLOS, as well as how EU countries are in a special legal position due to the EU having adopted a Sulphur Directive entailed sulphur regulation which is not found in MARPOL Annex VI. Enforcement (including sanctioning) of other regulations of other forms of air pollution than sulphur (SOx), such as Nitrogen Oxide (NOx - including NECA's), VOC's and ODS, is also examined, alongside non-air pollution regulations such as MARPOL Annex I-V and the conventions on ballast water, ship recycling, dumping of waste etc.

The book also explores, in the final chapters, whether an envisioned future ban on the use of fossil based marine fuels could be considered the first international environmental norm (regulation) of a jus cogens character, which would have immense implications in terms of enforcing such a prohibition.
Reception
Zhen Sun reviewed the work for The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law.

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