IMO Institutional Structure and Law-Making Process - Prevention of Pollution of the Marine Environment from Vessels - page 33

coastal and flag States to create a national legal framework for prevention of vessel-
source air pollution taking into account internationally agreed rules, standards and
recommended practices and procedures. 76 The phrase requires

coastal States to exercise a minimum level of measures against vessel-source air
pollution. That means this article provides a prescriptive jurisdiction which is
subjected to international rules and standards. 77 Again, article 222 of the UNCLOS
imposes an obligation on the States to implement and enforce international rules
and standards for the prevention of vessel-source air pollution. 78
UNCLOS does not prescribe a large set of new standards for the prevention of
vessel-source pollution. Instead, it mainly incorporates within its ambit standards
prescribed in other international legal instruments. The IMO

taking into account

' '

s official position is
that “while UNCLOS defines flag, coastal and port State jurisdiction, IMO instru-
ments specify how State jurisdiction should be exercised so as to ensure compliance
with safety and shipping anti-pollution regulations”. 79 In this regard, UNCLOS
introduced some rules of reference which vary depending on the subject of the rules
of reference, particularly with respect to the “generally accepted international rules
and standards” (GAIRS). This phrase has been frequently used. UNCLOS often
uses some rules of reference, including: “generally accepted international regula-
tions”, “applicable international instruments”, “generally accepted international
regulations, procedures and practices”, and “generally accepted international
rules and standards” (GAIRS). There is a serious debate among scholars on its
precise meaning in Part XII of UNCLOS while elaborating on the obligations
towards marine environmental protection. 80 Nevertheless, it is widely recognised
that GAIRS indicate IMO conventions.
These issues are very important in implementing international conventions as a
flag, coastal or port State. Firstly, a coastal or port State may prescribe and enforce
some standards contained in a particular IMO marine environmental convention
which has attained

'

, even if the flag State of a
particular foreign ship is not a party to that convention. Finally, the country must
ensure that ships flying its flag adhere to similar types of standards contained in
some international instruments, whether the country subscribes to those conven-
tions or not. This makes the role of IMO so critically important. As observed by a
study published by IMO:

' sufficiently general acceptance '

Although IMO is explicitly mentioned in only one of the articles of UNCLOS (article 2 of
Annex VIII), several provisions in the Convention refer to the “competent international

76

UNCLOS, art. 212 (1).

77

Molenaar ( 1998 ), p. 501.

78

UNCLOS, art 222.
79 IMO, Implications of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for the International
Maritime Organization , IMO Doc LEG/MISC.7 (19 January 2012) at pg 12.
80 UNCLOS, arts 211(2), 211(5), 211(6) and 226 (1). See generally Tan ( 2006 ), Oxman ( 1991 ),
Sohn ( 1986 ), Andrianov ( 1990 ), Dempsey ( 1984 ), Boyle ( 1985 ), Lee ( 1983 ), and

Molenaar ( 1998 ).