RIGHT OF ACCESS TO SEA BY LANDLOCKED STATES AND CORRESPONDING RIGHTS OF TRANSIT STATES: A LOOK AT NEPAL-INDIA AND NIGERIANIGER/ CHAD RELATIONSHIP

Abstract

The right to access the sea for the enjoyment of its benefits is a right available to countries over the globe under international law. However, these rights are not absolute as the exercise of same has to be in consideration of the sovereignty of different States. Particularly, the landlocked States are by the nature of their geographical location denied a free access to the sea, this is because for landlocked States to exercise the rights to explore the sea within the confines of the available legal frame work, recourse need to made to their neighboring transit/coastal States perhaps for an agreement between them to ensure free access while preserving the sovereignty of the transit States and or the coastal state over as the case may be over their territories as recognized under international law. The necessity of such an agreement to a landlocked state cannot be overemphasized given the economic benefits to be derived from the exploration of the sea as can be evidently seen in the development of coastal States around the world when compared with the landlocked States. This paper therefore examines the rights of a State to explore the sea, the right of landlocked states to access the sea, the corresponding right of a transit/coastal state in exercise of its sovereignty under international law, instances of the exercise of such rights while looking into the relationship between Nepal – India on one hand and Nigeria – Niger/Chad on the other hand.