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European Union (EU) became a party to the United Nations
Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on 1 April 1998. UNCLOS can generate
several and sometimes complicated legal effects with regard to the EU, either
partially or fully separate from the EU’s other international agreements, since
it is multilateral, have the characteristic of constitution of the seas in
substantive terms, brings an institutionalised structure, including International
Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, in institutional terms and is a mixed
agreement in EU terms. Hence, for these reasons, this Article aims to present
the legal effects of the UNCLOS with regard to the EU, on the basis of
principle of institutional balance and general effects under EU law, in the
light of the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. As will be
seen, generally, the principle of institutional balance has been against the
maximum control demands of Member States and for the desire of the EU
institutions, which bear overriding supranational characteristics, to take the
control in their hands in relation to the UNCLOS matters. Besides, both UNCLOS
and international customary law as long as composed by a provision of UNCLOS,
provided that they are binding on the EU, can be a subject of infringement
proceedings and principle of consistent interpretation; however, contain
partially certainty, furthermore inconsistencies in relation to directly
effectiveness, legality review and EU’s non-contractual liability.