This is the seventh and final volume of the most authoritative reference on the Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III, 1973-1982). The volume provides the original text of the 1982 convention as fully integrated with the provisions of the 1994 Agreement on the Implementation of XI, in addition to an extensive subject index to Volumes I through VI of the series.

These commentaries are based almost entirely on the formal and informal documentation of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III, 1973-1982), coupled, where necessary, with the personal knowledge of editors, contributors, or reviewers, many of whom were principal negotiators or UN personnel who participated in the Conference.

These commentaries are based almost entirely on the formal and informal documentation of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III, 1973-1982), coupled, where necessary, with the personal knowledge of editors, contributors, or reviewers, many of whom were principal negotiators or UN personnel who participated in the Conference.

Volume III is the fourth substantive volume to be published in this series, covering articles 86 to 132 of the 1982 Convention. These articles address the issue of States' rights and jurisdiction in maritime areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (with the exception of the international seabed area), as well as the regime to be applied to islands, in enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, and with the access of landlocked States to and from the sea. Volume III is a direct continuation of Volume II, which deals with maritime areas under the sovereignty of jurisdiction of a State, and completes the commentary on the provisions of the Convention negotiated under the auspices of the Second Committee at UNCLOS III. The work of the Second Committee was an integrated whole, and the unity of the theme has been spread over two volumes solely as a matter of convenience. A number of documentary annexes have been included in this volume.

Volume VI is the sixth substantive volume to be published in the series. It deals with the work of the First Committee at the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, namely the international seabed area. The volume thus embraces the deep seabed mining regime set out in Part XI of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea together with the 1994 Agreement on its implementation. Completion of this commentary was delayed first by the consultations and negotiations that commenced in 1990 and led to the 1994 Agreement and the entry into force of the Convention. It was further delayed until the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority approved the detailed mining regulations in 2000. Additional supplementary material can be found at UNCLOS 1982 Commentary: Supplementary Documents.