CHANNEL TUNNEL: UK LAW AND THE SEABED

HL Deb 13 May 1986 vol 474 cc1131-2WA

Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In the light of Clause 9 of the Channel Tunnel Bill, whether at present "the law of England" does not apply to the relevant parts of the British continental shelf, including its subsoil, and if it does not, what law does apply.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Transport (The Earl of Caithness)

Statute law does not apply below low water mark unless express provision is made. Some aspects of English common law apply to the waters and seabed adjoining England within territorial waters. Under international law the United Kingdom enjoys certain rights to exploit the continental shelf adjoining England outside territorial waters, and the Continental Shelf Act 1964 makes provision for the application of United Kingdom law to installations there. The purpose of Clause 9 is to ensure that English law and jurisdiction will apply to the tunnel system under the seabed as far as the frontier in the same way as they apply on land in the rest of England.