The legal regime applicable to straits used for international navigation is a matter of great importance for the maritime community. Ever since it became clear that international law would sanction territorial seas of up to 12 nautical miles, the realization that many of the most important straits would fall exclusively within territorial seas of coastal states has caused the major maritime powers to seek safeguards for their strategic interests under the guise of preserving the freedom of navigation. As with many other matters, UNCLOS III provided the framework within which the debate was to develop. The general history of the subject is well known. The chief interest of this book is that it is written by an active participant in the debate. The author represented Spain at UNCLOS III and was concerned with the issue of straits. Spain was the leading member of the “Strait states” group which advocated continued adherence to the regime of non-suspendible innocent passage rather than its replacement by a special legal regime governing such straits. He is, therefore, well placed to give insights into the work of the Conference on this matter.

An introductory section considers what is meant by international straits. The tension between geographical and functional criteria is discussed and it is concluded that, since all that the functional element requires is that a strait be “a useful route for international navigation”, almost all straits that meet the geographical requirement of connecting one part of the high seas or an EEZ with another will be subject to the regime of transit passage (p. 15). The second section traces the historical development of the subject. Given the author’s involvement in the negotiating process it is, perhaps, surprising that comparatively little of what was previously unknown is revealed. The account is, however, thorough and lucid. What does come through is that, having lost the first round of the debate at UNCLOS III, the “Strait state” group lost its cohesion and no really effective challenge to the concept of transit passage was mounted. The author blames this on the “salami tactics” (p. 292) of the pro-transit passage states in making concessions tailored to fit the needs of individual strait states in order to detach them from the remaining opponents. Though there may be some truth in this, many of the “concessions” to which he points were not made until the tail end of the Conference and he himself observes that the group fell apart as early as 1976—partly because of loss of leadership occasioned by dissensions within the Spanish delegation (p. 125). Indeed, Spain also made a “gentleman’s agreement” with the United States, but its implementation stumbled upon procedural requirements (p. 143).

If, then, there is something of a feeling of “sour grapes” in the historical presentation, this is made manifest in the third section which provides a legal analysis of the Convention. Maritime and air navigation are examined in separate, well structured and thorough chapters. Much of the discussion is, however, weakened by the constant reminders that just about all the shortcomings identified would, in the main, have been eradicated if only the Conference had had the sense to adopt the suggestions put forward by Spain. This is a pity, since some of the criticisms levied appear to be well founded and deserve a more balanced consideration. The final chapter in this section is devoted to innocent passage. There is much of interest here, particularly the conclusion that international law requires that coastal states be notified of the passage of warships (p. 264; this also happents to be the view adopted by Spain). However, there is also a good deal of repetition. For example, much the same information concerning statements made at the conclusion of UNCLOS III concerning the passage of warships and the text of the declaration made by Italy in response is found on pp. 153, 250 and 260–262.