UNCLOS Transit Passage Regime for International Straits
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982, governs navigation through straits used for international shipping. Articles 37 and 38 grant all ships and aircraft the right of "transit passage" — continuous, expeditious movement through a strait connecting one part of the high seas/EEZ to another — and Article 44 explicitly bars littoral states from suspending this right, distinguishing it from the more restrictive "innocent passage" regime applicable to ordinary territorial seas.
- UNCLOS opened for signature in 1982; India ratified it in 1995
- Transit passage (Art. 38) is broader than innocent passage — it also covers overflight and submerged transit, and littoral states may regulate but not suspend it
- Littoral states retain limited regulatory powers over navigational safety, pollution control, and customs, but not suspension of passage (Art. 44)
- The Strait of Hormuz is the paradigmatic example of a strait to which the transit passage regime applies, connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea
● Tracked since July 13, 2026 · last seen August 30, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
See it in today’s brief.
Daily current affairs with every static concept explained in place.
Read the daily brief