Ideological Rigidity vs. Political Reality: A Critique of Reagan's Policy on the Law of the Sea

"[T]he deep seas and ocean bottoms are, and remain, the legacy of all human beings." These words spoken by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966 foreshadowed an international movement to protect the oceans. Sixteen years later the movement culminated in a comprehensive Convention on the Law of the Sea-a treaty grounded upon the principle that oceans beyond the limits of national jurisdiction are the "common heritage of mankind."'