Moving out to sea : international legal implications of building an offshore airport outside territorial waters

This thesis deals with the plan of the Dutch government to build an offshore airport outside its territorial waters. Because the airport will be outside territorial waters several problems may arise. Under the Law of the Sea the question is whether such an airport can lawfully be built and what the different conditions are under which it is possible. The Convention on International Civil Aviation is older then the new Law of the Sea Convention and therefore not up to date with the new zones in the sea that have emerged. Air law therefore needs to be interpreted in the light of those new developments.The first chapter deals with the reasons behind the plan to build such an airport. Thereafter, subsequent chapters discuss the law of the sea, air law, European law and the law of other organizations, which will have an influence on an offshore airport outside the territorial sea. The final chapter deals with plans and examples of other uses of artificial islands, including offshore airports