These two books constitute the eighth and ninth volumes respectively in Nijhoff’s series “International Straits of the World”. Cuyvers’s book appears, rather unfortunately, at a time when the regime of the Strait of Dover is changing as a result of the United Kingdom’s extension of its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles. Nevertheless, much of his work remains of use. With a host of charts, Cuyvers provides a relatively clear picture of the geography and hydrography of the Strait; and a mass of information is produced relating to the problems posed by maritime collisions and vessel-source pollution. The author’s treatment of the legal regime of the Strait of Dover is less happy. His major theme is that the Strait has been “a pioneer region of maritime development”, the problems that have beset it prompting the formation of much of the modern law relating to navigational safety and vessel-source pollution. However, the law, both national and international, is presented with such a lack of clarity, completeness and system that the reader coming to this book with little knowledge of those fields will leave it not much better informed.

Rozakis’s and Stagos’s book is superior to Cuyvers’s volume in its treatment of things legal. Nevertheless, a number of errors do appear. For example, the law relating to successive treaties is misapplied on p. 75, and Art. 18(1)(d) of the Montreux Convention is completely misconstrued on p. 111. Furthermore, the legal impediment to the passage through the Straits of the Soviet warship Kiev is not its tonnage, as is stated on p. 132, but rather the fact that it is arguably an “aircraft-carrier” under the definition in Annex II(B)(2), being “designed … primarily for the purpose of carrying and operating aircraft at sea”. The only surface warships which enjoy the right to pass through the Turkish Straits under the Montreux Convention are the “light surface vessels, minor war vessels and auxiliary vessels” of all nations under Art. 10 and the “capital ships” of Black Sea states under Art. 11. Article 14 imposes a limit on the maximum aggregate tonnage of the vessels which might be in the course of transit at any one time under Art. 10. A ceiling is also put on the tonnage of any one “light surface vessel” or “minor war vessel” by the definitions given these terms in Annex II(B)(3)(5). True, the Kiev is effectively barred from passage under Art. 10 by its displacement. Nevertheless, the aggregate limit on the tonnage of passing vessels set by Art. 14 does not apply to ships passing under Art. 11; and no limit is put on the tonnage of any one vessel passing under that Article by the definition of “capital ship” in Annex II(B)(1). It might, therefore, be thought that the Kiev is entitled to pass through the Straits under Art. 11, regardless of its displacement; but that would be to overlook the fact that “aircraft-carriers” are expressly excluded from the category of “capital ships” by Annex II(B)(1). Moreover, whatever their tonnage, aircraft-carriers are also excluded from the categories of