FUTURE OF EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE

History shows us that strong states usually maritime nations are rigidly opposed to the limitation of the freedom of the seas, meanwile some other states assert the limited use of the maritime domain.As a result of the trend towards increasing sovereignty of some states over seas, the consept of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) emerged in 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).The Convention provides certain economic rights and jurisdictions to the coastal states and sets forth some rights and duties to other states.However, the legal status of foreign military activities in the EEZ is ambiguous since it is not clearly defined in the Convention.As a consequence of this uncertainty, the legal status of the foreign military activities in the EEZ is interpreted from very different poiny of views by states.The diversity of the views causes conflicts for states from time to time.The above mentioned conflicts can affect the future of the EEZ which is at utmost importance for the use of the maritime domain.In this study; the history and the legal aspects of the EEZ should be assessed in general for predicting the future of the EEZ.Then, basic disputes over the legal status of foreign military activities in EEZ will be explored, and practices and interpretations of states will be mentioned briefly.Finally, this study will evaluate the issues about how the legal future of the EEZ might be shaped and how it should be.