A Contiguous Zone refers to maritime zones along the territorial sea that may not enlarge beyond 24 nautical miles from the baseline from which the extent of the territorial sea is calculated.
The coastal state, in the contiguous zone, may put into effect the order necessary to put off and penalize encroachment of its traditional, economic, migration, or sanitary laws and convention within its territory or territorial sea.
The United Nations Law of the Sea Convention vide Part II (TERRITORIAL SEA AND CONTIGUOUS ZONE) in Article 2 has stated
• “The sovereignty of a coastal State extends, beyond its land territory and internal waters and, in the case of an archipelagic State, its archipelagic waters, to an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea.
• This sovereignty extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well as to its bed and subsoil.
• The sovereignty over the territorial sea is exercised subject to this Convention and to other rules of international law.”
The Convention on the territorial sea and contiguous zone has further stated that:-
“Every State has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from baselines determined in accordance with this Convention”
