International sea canals are artificially created sea routes. They were usually built to reduce the length of sea roads and reduce the risks and dangers of navigation. In particular, with the introduction of the Suez Canal, the distance between the ports of Europe and Asia was more than halved. Existing sea canals are built on the territories of certain states under their sovereignty.
However, for some sea canals, due to their importance for international navigation or for historical reasons, international legal regimes have been established. Such regimes were established for the Suez, Panama and Kiel canals.
The Suez Canal was built on the territory of Egypt by a joint stock company established by the Frenchman F. Lesseps. In order to build the canal, the Egyptian khedive granted this company a concession for a period of 99 years from the opening of the canal. The canal was opened in 1869 and became the property of the Anglo-French Joint Stock Company of the Suez Canal. At a conference held in Constantinople in 1888, the Suez Canal Convention was signed by Great Britain, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Spain, Italy, Holland and Turkey, representing Egypt at the same time. Subsequently, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, China and Japan acceded to the Convention. Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention, the Suez Canal shall remain free and open at all times, during both peace and wartime, to all merchant and military ships, without distinction as to flag. During wartime, the warships of the warring powers also have the right of free passage through the Suez Canal. In the channel, in its ports of outlet and in the waters adjoining these ports for a period of three miles, all acts which may create difficulties for free navigation are forbidden. The blockade of the canal is declared inadmissible. The diplomatic representatives of the signatory Powers in Egypt “shall be charged with the duty of supervising its execution” (Art. 8).
On July 26, 1956, the Suez Canal Joint Stock Company was nationalized by decree of the Egyptian President. The UN Security Council, in a resolution dated October 13, 1956, affirmed Egypt’s sovereignty over the canal and its right to operate the canal “on the basis of the passage of ships of all flags.
Following the nationalization of the canal, the Egyptian government affirmed that it would respect and abide by the provisions of the 1888 International Convention on the Suez Canal. In the Declaration of April 25, 1957, the Egyptian government, while reaffirming its commitment “to ensure free and uninterrupted navigation for all countries” through the Suez Canal, solemnly declared its determination “to respect the terms and spirit of the Constantinople Convention of 1888.” As a result of the Israeli armed attack on the Arab countries in 1967, navigation in the Suez Canal was paralyzed for several years. The canal is now open to international navigation. To manage the operation of the Suez Canal, the Egyptian government established the Suez Canal Authority. It also approved special rules for navigation on the Suez Canal.
The Panama Canal, located on the narrow isthmus between North and South America, was the object of years of American-English rivalry. Even before the canal was built, in 1850, a treaty was signed between the United States and Great Britain in which both sides pledged not to submit the canal, should it be built, to their exclusive influence and control.
However, in 1901, the United States succeeded in getting Great Britain to revoke the 1850 treaty and recognize U.S. rights to build, manage, operate, and secure the canal. The new agreement also stipulated that the canal should be open on the basis of equality for merchant and military vessels of all flags, following the example of the Suez Canal.
By an agreement made in 1903 with the Republic of Panama, formed in part of Colombia, the United States received the right to construct and operate the canal. They acquired rights “as if they were sovereign of the territory” within a 10-mile land area along the banks of the canal and occupied it “in perpetuity.” The United States declared the permanent neutrality of the canal with the obligation to keep it open to ships of all flags in accordance with the Anglo-American agreement of 1901, which essentially applied to the canal the provisions of the 1888 Suez Canal Convention on the Regime of Navigation.
The canal was opened in August 1914, but was not opened to international shipping until 1920. From then until 1979, the Panama Canal remained under U.S. domination.
As a result of a broad and long-standing movement by the Panamanian people for the return of the canal to Panama, the U.S. was forced to accede to the demand that the 1903 agreement be revoked.
In 1977, two new treaties between Panama and the U.S. were signed and entered into force on October 1, 1979: the Panama Canal Treaty and the Treaty of Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal.
Under the Panama Canal Treaty, all previous agreements between the United States and Panama about the canal became null and void. Panama’s sovereignty was restored over the Panama Canal. “The Canal Zone,” created by the 1903 agreement, is abolished, and U.S. troops are withdrawn from it. However, until December 31, 1999, the U.S. retains control of the canal and its operation and maintenance (Art. 3). Only after that date will Panama “assume full responsibility for the management, operation and maintenance of the Panama Canal. On December 31, 1999, the Panama Canal Treaty will terminate. For the duration of the treaty, the U.S. retains the “right” to station its armed forces in the Canal Zone (Art. 4).
The Treaty of Neutrality and Functioning of the Panama Canal declared the canal a “permanently neutral international waterway” open to the navigation of all countries (Articles 1 and 2). The treaty states that the Panama Canal shall be “open to the peaceful transit of ships of all nations under conditions of full equality and nondiscrimination. A fee will be charged for passage and service. The treaty includes a provision that the United States is the “guarantor” of the neutrality of the Panama Canal.
The Kiel Canal, which connects the Baltic Sea with the North Sea, was built by Germany and opened to navigation in 1896. Prior to World War I, Germany treated the Kiel Canal as an inland waterway with a corresponding regime. The Treaty of Versailles established an international legal regime for the canal. According to article 380 of the Versailles Treaty, the Kiel Canal was permanently declared free and open to the naval and merchant ships of all states at peace with Germany.
Since the end of World War II the legal regime of Kiel Canal was not regulated by any treaties or agreements between the states concerned.
At present, the Kiel Canal regime is governed unilaterally by the Government of Germany, which has issued the Kiel Canal Regulations, which provide for the freedom of commercial navigation for all countries.