International Relations GS 2 In the news 13 times

Freedom of Navigation and UNCLOS

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982) is the comprehensive international legal framework governing the use of the world's oceans. It establishes rights of passage through international straits: under Article 38, all ships (and aircraft) enjoy the right of "transit passage" through straits used for international navigation — a right that cannot be suspended. The Strait of Hormuz qualifies as such a strait, meaning all commercial vessels have an unimpeded legal right of passage that no coastal state (including Iran) can legally block.

Key details

UNCLOS Article 38: Transit passage right through international straits — cannot be suspended by bordering states.
UNCLOS Article 44: States bordering straits must not hamper transit passage and must give due publicity to any danger to navigation.
Iran is a signatory to UNCLOS but has disputed its application to the Strait of Hormuz, claiming a right to regulate foreign military vessels.
UNCLOS was adopted December 10, 1982, and entered into force November 16, 1994; India ratified it on June 29, 1995.
India's SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine explicitly upholds freedom of navigation under UNCLOS.

In the news

● Tracked since March 11, 2026 · last seen May 06, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes

06 May '26

Iran-Israel war LIVE: Trump threatens Iran with ‘higher level’ bombing if it doesn't reopen Strait of Hormuz