Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021

Interpretation

2. (1) In this Act—

“Act of 1968” means the Continental Shelf Act 1968 ;

“Act of 2006” means the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 ;

“artificial island” means any part of the seabed or of a submerged seabed feature that, by human modification, has been brought above water at low-tide;

“baseline” means—

(a) a baseline construed in accordance with section 6 (1),

(b) a straight baseline that is prescribed by order under section 6 (2)(a),

(c) the closing line of the mouth of any bay that is prescribed by order under section 6 (2)(b), or

(d) a baseline standing prescribed, for the time being, by order referred to in section 6 (3);

“contiguous zone” shall be construed in accordance with section 12 ;

“continental shelf” shall be construed in accordance with section 16 ;

“Convention” means the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982, the text of Parts II, V and VI of which is set out in Schedule 1 ;

“designated area” means—

(a) an area that is designated by order under section 17 (1), or

(b) an area standing designated, for the time being, by order referred to in section 17 (2);

“energy product” means electricity, natural gas, petroleum or any derivative of petroleum;

“exclusive economic zone” shall be construed in accordance with section 13 ;

“foreign ship” means a ship that is not an Irish ship (within the meaning of section 9 of the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 );

“installation” includes—

(a) any fixed structure,

(b) any floating structure or device maintained on a station by whatever means, and

(c) any vessel which is for the time being within the vicinity of an installation and being used in connection with the operation of the installation;

“internal waters” shall be construed in accordance with section 8 ;

“Irish ship” means—

(a) a ship within the meaning of section 9 of the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 , or

(b) on and from the commencement of section 7 of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Act 2014 , a ship within the meaning of section 33 of that Act;

“low-tide elevation” means a naturally formed area of land surrounded by and above water at low water but submerged at high water;

“Minister” means the Minister for Foreign Affairs;

“nautical mile” means 1,852 metres;

“outer limit of the territorial sea” means—

(a) the line every point of which is at a distance of 12 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baseline, or

(b) in relation to a part of the territorial sea to which an order under section 7 for the time being applies, the outer limit of the territorial sea prescribed by that order;

“territorial sea” shall be construed in accordance with section 7 ;

“wrong” has the meaning assigned to it by the Civil Liability Act 1961 .

(2) A word or expression that is used in the Convention and in this Act shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the same meaning in this Act that it has in the Convention.

(3) References in this Act to an act include references to an omission and references to the doing of an act include references to the making of an omission.