By Assaf Harel* —

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4 Harv. Nat’l Sec. J. 131 (2012)

This Article examines what authority coastal states have under international law to protect their offshore platforms from the dire consequences of such attacks. It argues that while states have sufficient legal authority to take measures for protecting offshore platforms located in their territorial sea, they lack such authority outside that area. In particular, this Article addresses the authority given to states in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) to restrict navigation within 500-meter-wide safety zones around offshore platforms located in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or on the continental shelf. In this regard, this Article argues that not only are such safety zones insufficient for protecting platforms from deliberate attacks, but they also seem to be insufficient for protecting those platforms from safety hazards.

* Major, Israel Defense Forces. Presently serving as a legal advisor in the Military Advocate General’s Corps. L.L.M., 2012, The Judge Advocate General’s School, United States Army, Charlottesville, Virginia; M.B.A., 2011, Tel-Aviv University; L.L.B., 2006, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Major, Israel Defense Forces. Presently serving as a legal advisor in the Military Advocate General's Corps. L.L.M., 2012, The Judge Advocate General’s School, United States Army, Charlottesville, Virginia; M.B.A., 2011, Tel-Aviv University; L.L.B., 2006, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.