Oceans & international law
High Seas
Ocean waters beyond any state's exclusive economic zone — a global commons covering nearly two-thirds of the ocean, now governed by the 2023 BBNJ Agreement.
Definition
The high seas are the parts of the sea that are not included in the exclusive economic zone, territorial sea, or internal waters of any state, as defined in Article 86 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Covering about two-thirds of the ocean, they belong to no country; the 2023 BBNJ Agreement, which entered into force in January 2026, establishes the first comprehensive framework for conserving marine biodiversity in these areas.
References
scale and new legal regime
legal definition
Overview
What it means
The high seas are the planet's largest commons — and historically its weakest governed. Freedoms of navigation and fishing applied, but no mechanism existed to create marine protected areas or require environmental impact assessment in international waters. The BBNJ Agreement changes this with provisions for MPAs, EIA, benefit-sharing of marine genetic resources, and capacity building.
How it is used
The concept structures the Law of the Sea, fisheries governance, deep-seabed mining debates, and the 30x30 ocean-protection target.
Why it matters
Half the planet's surface cannot be protected without a legal regime for the high seas; one now exists for the first time.
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