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· collected 2026-09-05 · by M Kalyanaraman
Tommy Koh, a lawyer and legal scholar born in 1937, was recently awarded the Ramon Magsaysay award for his work on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He chaired a negotiating committee that helped over 150 nations adopt UNCLOS in 1982. Koh notes that despite some disputes arising from the convention, it has been widely adopted, with 172 countries being parties to UNCLOS, and even non-party countries like the US regarding it as authoritative law of the sea. The article highlights Koh's thoughts on various aspects of UNCLOS, including its dispute resolution mechanism and its status as a "constitution" for the world's oceans.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
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Story summary
Tommy Koh, a lawyer and legal scholar born in 1937, played a key role in the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982. As president of the conference, Koh led more than 150 nations to adopt the convention, which has been at the center of various disputes, including those involving the Strait of Hormuz. The convention is considered a foundational document for governing the world's oceans. In an interview, Koh stated that his work on UNCLOS was recognized with the Ramon Magsaysay award, which he believes signifies "an endorsement of my work to build a world governed by law and not by force." During the final years of negotiations before the signing in 1982, Koh had to broker compromises, including addressing the radical demands made by the Reagan Administration on seabed mining.
Written for “UN Ocean Treaty Review” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.60, but every quote it verified points left, so the score is not published.
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Leaning score withheld for article 4586: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-05
Born in 1937 and educated as a lawyer and a legal scholar, Mr. Koh chaired a pivotal negotiating committee of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.
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Koh → bear → Sea
The award citation lauds him for “bridging a fundamental divide over seabed mining between wealthy and developing, capitalist and non-capitalist, maritime and landlocked nations”.
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citation → laud → nations
In 1982, as president of the entire conference, Mr. Koh led more than 150 nations to adopt the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which has been in the news because of many disputes that have arisen including the Strait of Hormuz.
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that → lead → Hormuz
What do you think the award, especially the recognition of your role in UNCLOS, signifies?
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award → think → UNCLOS
It is an endorsement of my work to build a world governed by law and not by force.
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It → build → force
You took over the presidency of UNCLOS III in 1980, inheriting nearly a decade of negotiation.
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You → take → negotiation
What were the hardest compromises you had to broker in the final years before the 1982 signing?
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you → have → signing
The biggest challenge was the Reagan Administration’s radical demands on seabed mining which were rejected by the developing countries.
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which → reject → countries
[U.S. President Ronald Reagan changed the stance of the U.S. taken during the Jimmy Carter era.
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Reagan → change → era
He objected to UNCLOS Part XI’s treatment of the deep seabed as the “common heritage of mankind” that he saw as going against free-enterprise and private-property norms.
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he → object → norms
The U.S. never ratified the Convention despite the 1994 Part XI fix.
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U.S. → ratify → fix
We have 172 countries which are parties to UNCLOS.
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which → have → UNCLOS
Even though the U.S. is not a party it regards UNCLOS as the authoritative law of the sea.
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it → regard → sea
Do you think the Malacca-Singapore straits are a model for resolving the Strait of Hormuz?
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straits → think → Hormuz
Or do you think status quo before the war is the best solution for the world, if not for Iran?
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quo → think → Iran
The priority is to end the war.
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priority → end → war
Do the Malacca-Singapore straits provide transit rights to warships and submarines?
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straits → provide → warships
Iran seems to be very keen on not allowing that.
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Iran → seem → that
However, the regime of transit passage has become part of customary international law and is binding on Iran.
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regime → become → Iran
Given current EEZ (exclusive economic zone) and seabed disputes — South China Sea, Indian Ocean boundary questions — do you think UNCLOS’s core architecture is holding up?
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architecture → give → ?
Countries dub some ships as dark fleet and take punitive, material action against them including in the high seas.
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Countries → dub → seas
Do you agree with that?
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you → agree → that
It is at the IMO that we should try to tackle this problem.
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we → try → problem
How has the dispute resolution mechanism worked?
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mechanism → work → ?
Unlike other treaties under UNCLOS, states parties are bound by a system of compulsory dispute settlement.
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parties → bind → settlement
It has, in my view, worked very well.
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It → work → view
