Reassessing coastal state rights and jurisdiction under UNCLOS: legal implications of unmanned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations
Journal: ePrints Soton (University of Southampton)
Year: 2026

This thesis examines the legality of unmanned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Although UNCLOS constitutes the fundamental legal framework of the law of the sea, it was negotiated without consideration of rapid technological advances, particularly the advent of unmanned systems. The increasing integration of unmanned maritime vehicles (UMVs) into ISR operations raises novel legal and practical ques