If you are preparing for ICAR, state fisheries, UPSC or any fisheries competitive exam, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is one topic you cannot skip. It is the constitution for the oceans — the single treaty that divides the sea into zones, fixes who can fish where, and sets up the courts and bodies that settle ocean disputes. Questions on maritime zones, the EEZ and the institutions UNCLOS created appear in almost every fisheries question paper. This set of 20 MCQs covers the facts examiners love most, with every answer explained.
UNCLOS at a glance
UNCLOS was adopted on 10 December 1982 at Montego Bay, Jamaica, after nine years of negotiation (UNCLOS III, 1973–1982), and entered into force on 16 November 1994, a year after the 60th ratification. It has 320 articles and 9 annexes, and it is often called the “constitution for the oceans” — a phrase coined by Tommy Koh, president of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea. India signed the Convention on 10 December 1982 and ratified it on 29 June 1995. The United States, notably, has signed the 1994 Part XI Implementation Agreement but has never ratified UNCLOS itself.
Maritime zones: the table to memorise
Almost half the questions in this set come from this one table. Learn the distances and the rights that go with each zone.
| Zone | Extent from baseline | Coastal state’s rights | Key article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internal waters | Landward of the baseline | Full sovereignty, like land territory | Art. 8 |
| Territorial sea | Up to 12 nautical miles | Full sovereignty, subject to innocent passage of foreign ships | Art. 3, 17 |
| Contiguous zone | Up to 24 nautical miles | Control over customs, fiscal, immigration and sanitary laws | Art. 33 |
| Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) | Up to 200 nautical miles | Sovereign RIGHTS over resources — not full sovereignty | Art. 55–57 |
| Continental shelf | At least 200 nm; up to 350 nm from baseline | Sovereign rights over seabed resources, including sedentary species | Art. 76–77 |
| High seas | Beyond national jurisdiction | Open to all states; no state may claim sovereignty | Art. 86–87 |
| The Area | Seabed beyond national jurisdiction | Common heritage of mankind, managed by the ISA | Art. 136, Part XI |
India’s EEZ covers about 2.02 million sq km — an area larger than the country’s landmass is often compared with it in exams — and in 2014 India and Bangladesh settled their Bay of Bengal maritime boundary through UNCLOS-based arbitration.
Institutions UNCLOS created
- International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) — seated at Hamburg, Germany; settles disputes under the Convention.
- International Seabed Authority (ISA) — seated at Kingston, Jamaica; organises and controls activities in the Area.
- Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) — examines coastal states’ submissions for shelves beyond 200 nm.
Two implementing agreements sit under UNCLOS and are frequently asked about: the UN Fish Stocks Agreement (adopted 4 August 1995; in force 11 December 2001) for straddling and highly migratory stocks, and the BBNJ Agreement — the High Seas Treaty — adopted 19 June 2023 and in force since 17 January 2026. We have a full MCQ set on the High Seas Treaty if you want to revise that next.
How to use this question set
- Attempt all 20 questions without looking at the answers.
- Read every explanation — even for questions you got right. The article numbers are the real exam payload.
- Revisit the zones table above until you can reproduce the 12–24–200–350 sequence from memory.
- Pair this set with our RFMO MCQs and IUU Fishing MCQs — together they cover almost everything exams ask on international fisheries law.
20 MCQs on UNCLOS, maritime zones and the law of the sea
Q1. UNCLOS was adopted on 10 December 1982 at:
(a) Geneva, Switzerland (b) Montego Bay, Jamaica (c) New York, USA (d) Hamburg, Germany
Answer: (b) Montego Bay, Jamaica. The Convention was opened for signature at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982, after the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973–1982).
Q2. UNCLOS entered into force on:
(a) 10 December 1982 (b) 29 June 1995 (c) 16 November 1994 (d) 28 July 1996
Answer: (c) 16 November 1994. It entered into force one year after the 60th ratification was deposited. The 1994 Part XI Implementation Agreement entered into force definitively on 28 July 1996 — a common trap option.
Q3. The maximum breadth of the territorial sea under UNCLOS is:
(a) 3 nautical miles (b) 6 nautical miles (c) 12 nautical miles (d) 24 nautical miles
Answer: (c) 12 nautical miles. Article 3 fixes the territorial sea at up to 12 nm from the baseline. The coastal state has sovereignty here, subject to the right of innocent passage.
Q4. The contiguous zone extends up to:
(a) 12 nautical miles (b) 24 nautical miles (c) 200 nautical miles (d) 350 nautical miles
Answer: (b) 24 nautical miles. Under Article 33, the coastal state may exercise control in the contiguous zone to prevent and punish infringements of its customs, fiscal, immigration and sanitary laws.
Q5. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends up to:
(a) 12 nautical miles (b) 24 nautical miles (c) 100 nautical miles (d) 200 nautical miles
Answer: (d) 200 nautical miles. Article 57 caps the EEZ at 200 nm from the baselines. This is the single most-asked number in UNCLOS questions.
Q6. In the EEZ, the coastal state enjoys:
(a) Full sovereignty like its land territory (b) Sovereign rights over natural resources, but not sovereignty (c) No rights at all (d) Only fishing rights, with no say over minerals
Answer: (b) Sovereign rights over natural resources, but not sovereignty. Article 56 gives sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing living and non-living resources. Other states keep freedoms of navigation and overflight.
Q7. The outer limit of the continental shelf shall NOT exceed:
(a) 200 nautical miles (b) 250 nautical miles (c) 350 nautical miles (d) 500 nautical miles
Answer: (c) 350 nautical miles. Under Article 76, the shelf extends at least 200 nm, and where the margin is wide it may extend up to 350 nm from the baseline (or 100 nm beyond the 2,500-metre isobath).
Q8. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is seated at:
(a) The Hague, Netherlands (b) Hamburg, Germany (c) Kingston, Jamaica (d) Geneva, Switzerland
Answer: (b) Hamburg, Germany. ITLOS is the Convention’s judicial body. The Hague hosts the International Court of Justice — the classic distractor.
Q9. The International Seabed Authority (ISA), which manages the Area, is headquartered at:
(a) Hamburg, Germany (b) Montego Bay, Jamaica (c) Kingston, Jamaica (d) New York, USA
Answer: (c) Kingston, Jamaica. The ISA organises and controls mineral-related activities in the Area, the seabed beyond national jurisdiction.
Q10. “The Area” — the seabed and subsoil beyond national jurisdiction — is declared under Article 136 to be:
(a) The common heritage of mankind (b) The property of the nearest coastal state (c) Open for first-come-first-served mining (d) Part of the high seas
Answer: (a) The common heritage of mankind. Article 136 declares the Area and its resources the common heritage of mankind, and no state may claim sovereignty over any part of it.
Q11. Under Article 121, rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own:
(a) Generate a full EEZ and continental shelf (b) Have no EEZ or continental shelf (c) Generate only a territorial sea of 3 nm (d) Belong to the nearest archipelagic state
Answer: (b) Have no EEZ or continental shelf. Article 121(3) is the famous “rocks” rule — such features get only a territorial sea and contiguous zone, not a 200 nm EEZ. It was central to the 2016 South China Sea arbitration.
Q12. The right of innocent passage applies to foreign ships in the:
(a) High seas (b) Territorial sea (c) EEZ only (d) Contiguous zone only
Answer: (b) Territorial sea. Article 17 gives ships of all states the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea — passage that is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state.
Q13. Transit passage, under Article 38, applies to:
(a) Rivers used for inland navigation (b) Straits used for international navigation (c) Archipelagic waters only (d) Internal waters of island states
Answer: (b) Straits used for international navigation. Transit passage lets ships and aircraft pass through international straits without coastal-state interference — a stronger right than innocent passage.
Q14. Which of the following is NOT a freedom of the high seas under Article 87?
(a) Freedom of navigation (b) Freedom of fishing (c) Freedom to claim sovereignty over parts of the high seas (d) Freedom of scientific research
Answer: (c) Freedom to claim sovereignty over parts of the high seas. Article 89 expressly provides that no state may validly claim sovereignty over any part of the high seas. Navigation, fishing, overflight, cables and research are all listed freedoms.
Q15. The UN Fish Stocks Agreement, which implements UNCLOS for straddling and highly migratory fish stocks, entered into force in:
(a) 1995 (b) 1999 (c) 2001 (d) 2016
Answer: (c) 2001. Adopted on 4 August 1995, it entered into force on 11 December 2001, thirty days after the 30th ratification. It requires the precautionary approach and cooperation through RFMOs.
Q16. India ratified UNCLOS on:
(a) 10 December 1982 (b) 16 November 1994 (c) 29 June 1995 (d) 28 July 1996
Answer: (c) 29 June 1995. India signed on 10 December 1982 and ratified on 29 June 1995, as recorded by the UN Treaty Collection.
Q17. Which of these countries has NOT ratified UNCLOS?
(a) India (b) China (c) United States (d) Indonesia
Answer: (c) United States. The US signed the 1994 Part XI Agreement but the Senate has never ratified the Convention itself. India, China and Indonesia are all parties.
Q18. The BBNJ Agreement (High Seas Treaty) entered into force on:
(a) 19 June 2023 (b) 19 September 2025 (c) 17 January 2026 (d) 11 January 2027
Answer: (c) 17 January 2026. Adopted 19 June 2023, it entered into force 120 days after the 60th ratification (19 September 2025). Its first Conference of the Parties is scheduled for 11–22 January 2027.
Q19. The right of hot pursuit of a foreign vessel, under Article 111, may be exercised when:
(a) The vessel is anywhere on the high seas (b) The competent authorities have good reason to believe the vessel violated the coastal state’s laws in its internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone or EEZ (c) The vessel refuses to fly any flag (d) Only in wartime
Answer: (b) The competent authorities have good reason to believe the vessel violated the coastal state’s laws in its internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone or EEZ. Hot pursuit must begin while the vessel is within the relevant zone and must stop when it enters the territorial sea of its own or a third state.
Q20. Straddling fish stocks, under Article 63, are stocks that occur:
(a) Only within one country’s EEZ (b) Both within a coastal state’s EEZ and in the adjacent high seas (c) Only in inland waters (d) Only in the Area
Answer: (b) Both within a coastal state’s EEZ and in the adjacent high seas. Cod, halibut and squid are classic examples. Article 63 requires the coastal state and high-seas fishing states to cooperate on their conservation — the problem the UN Fish Stocks Agreement was written to solve.
Key UNCLOS articles to memorise
| Article | Subject |
|---|---|
| Art. 3 | Territorial sea — 12 nm |
| Art. 17 | Innocent passage |
| Art. 33 | Contiguous zone — 24 nm |
| Art. 38 | Transit passage through straits |
| Art. 56–57 | EEZ rights and 200 nm breadth |
| Art. 61–62 | Conservation and optimum utilisation of living resources in the EEZ |
| Art. 63–64 | Straddling stocks and highly migratory species |
| Art. 76–77 | Continental shelf limits; sovereign rights including sedentary species |
| Art. 87, 89 | High seas freedoms; no sovereignty over the high seas |
| Art. 101 | Definition of piracy |
| Art. 111 | Hot pursuit |
| Art. 121 | Regime of islands; rocks have no EEZ |
| Art. 136 | The Area — common heritage of mankind |
| Art. 287 | Choice of dispute-settlement forum (ITLOS, ICJ, arbitration) |
Frequently asked questions
How many nautical miles is the EEZ?
200 nautical miles from the baselines, under Article 57 of UNCLOS. One nautical mile equals 1.852 km.
Does the coastal state own the EEZ?
No. The coastal state has sovereign rights over the resources, not sovereignty over the zone itself. Foreign ships and aircraft keep freedom of navigation and overflight.
Is UNCLOS binding on India?
Yes. India ratified it on 29 June 1995, and India’s Maritime Zones Act, 1976 already mirrors its zone structure. India has used UNCLOS dispute settlement — the 2014 Bay of Bengal arbitration with Bangladesh settled their maritime boundary.
What is the difference between UNCLOS and the UN Fish Stocks Agreement?
UNCLOS is the overarching constitution for the oceans. The UN Fish Stocks Agreement (1995/2001) is an implementing agreement that applies UNCLOS specifically to straddling and highly migratory fish stocks, requiring the precautionary approach and cooperation through RFMOs. For the full picture, try our World Fisheries 2026 MCQs next.
Official sources
- United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea — full text of UNCLOS: un.org/depts/los
- UN Treaty Collection — status of UNCLOS ratifications, including India’s ratification on 29 June 1995: treaties.un.org
- International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: itlos.org
- International Seabed Authority: isa.org.jm
- UN Fish Stocks Agreement overview: un.org/depts/los
Fact-check note (10 November 2026): adoption, entry into force, zone breadths, article numbers, institutional seats, India’s ratification date, the US non-ratification, UNFSA dates and BBNJ entry into force were all checked against UN and treaty sources on 10 November 2026. Figures are as stated in the Convention text and the UN Treaty Collection.