On 17 October 2013, the Secretary-General received from the Government of Spain the following communication with regard to the declaration made by Ecuador upon accession:
"The Kingdom of Spain recalls that, in accordance with Articles 309 and 310 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, reservations or exceptions to the Convention are not permitted and that the Declaration of the Republic of Ecuador cannot exclude or modify the application of the provisions of the Convention for that State. In particular, Spain does not recognize the drawing of baselines that were not made as required by the Convention."
On 10 September 2008, the Secretary-General received from the Government of Spain the following communication with regard to the declaration made by Morocco upon ratification:
"Spain would like to make the following declarations in respect of the declaration made by Morocco on 31 May 2007 upon its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea:
(i) The autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, the Peñón de Alhucemas, the Peñón Vélez de la Gomera, and the Chafarinas Islands are an integral part of the Kingdom of Spain, which exercises full and total sovereignty over said territories, as well as their marine areas, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
(ii) The Moroccan laws and regulations on marine areas are not opposable to Spain except insofar as they are compatible with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, nor do they have any effect on the sovereign rights or jurisdiction that Spain exercises, or may exercise, over its own marine areas, as defined in accordance with the Convention and other applicable international provisions."
Declarations under articles 287 and 298 (July 19, 2002):
"Pursuant to article 287, paragraph 1, the Government of Spain declares that it chooses the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the International Court of Justice as means for the settlement of disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention.
The Government of Spain declares, pursuant to the provisions of article 298, para. 1(a) of the Convention, that it does not accept the procedures provided for in part XV, section 2, with respect to the settlement of disputes concerning the interpretation or application of articles 15, 74 and 83 relating to sea boundary delimitation, or those involving historic bays or titles."
Declarations made upon ratification:
"1. The Kingdom of Spain recalls that, as a member of the European Union, it has transferred competence over certain matters governed by the Convention to the European Community. A detailed declaration will be made in due course as to the nature and extent of the competence transferred to the European Community, in accordance with the provisions of Annex IX of the Convention.
2. In ratifying the Convention, Spain wishes to make it known that this act cannot be construed as recognition of any rights or status regarding the maritime space of Gibraltar that are not included in article 10 of the Treaty of Utrecht of 13 July 1713 concluded between the Crowns of Spain and Great Britain. Furthermore, Spain does not consider that Resolution III of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea is applicable to the colony of Gibraltar, which is subject to a process of decolonization in which only relevant resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly are applicable.
3. Spain understands that:
a) The provisions laid down in Part III of the Convention are compatible with the right of a coastal State to dictate and apply its own regulations in straits used for international navigation, provided that this does not impede the right of transit passage.
(b) In article 39, paragraph 3 (a), the word `normally' means `unless by force majeure or by distress'.
(c) The provisions of article 221 shall not deprive a State bordering a strait used for international navigation of its compe-tence under international law regarding intervention in the event of the casualties referred to in that article.
4. Spain interprets that:
(a) Articles 69 and 70 of the Convention mean that access to fisheries in the exclusive economic zone of third States by the fleets of developed landlocked or geographically disadvantaged States shall depend on whether the relevant coastal States have previously granted access to the fleets of States which habitually fish in the relevant exclusive economic zone.
(b) With regard to article 297, and without prejudice to the provisions of that article in respect of settlement of disputes, articles 56, 61 and 62 of the Convention do not allow of an interpretation whereby the rights of the coastal State to determine permissible catches, its capacity for exploitation and the allocation of surpluses to other States may be considered discretionary.
5. The provisions of article 9 of Annex III shall not prevent States Parties whose industrial potential does not enable them to participate directly as contractors in the exploitation of the resources of the zone from participating in the joint ventures referred to in paragraph 2 of that article.
6. In accordance with the provisions of article 287, paragraph 1, Spain chooses the International Court of Justice as the means for the settlement of disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention."
Declaration made upon signature:
"1. The Spanish Government, upon signing this Convention, declares that this act cannot be interpreted as recognition of any rights or situations relating to the maritime spaces of Gibraltar which are not included in article 10 of the Treaty of Utrecht of 13 July 1713 between the Spanish and British Crowns. The Spanish Government also considers that Resolution III of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea is not applicable in the case of the Colony of Gibraltar, which is undergoing a decolonization process in which only the relevant resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly apply.
2. It is the Spanish Government's interpretation that the régime established in Part III of the Convention is compatible with the right of the coastal State to issue and apply its own air regulations in the air space of the straits used for international navigation so long as this does not impede the transit passage of aircraft.
3. With regard to article 39, paragraph 3, it takes the word "normally" to mean "except in cases of force majeure or distress".
4. With regard to Article 42, it considers that the provisions of paragraph 1 (b) do not prevent it from issuing, in accordance with international law, laws and regulations giving effect to generally accepted international regulations.
5. The Spanish Government interprets articles 69 and 70 of the Convention as meaning that access to fishing in the economic zones of third States by the fleets of developed land-locked and geographically disadvantaged States is dependent upon the prior granting of access by the coastal States in question to the nationals of other States who have habitually fished in the economic zone concerned.
6. It interprets the provisions of Article 221 as not depriving the coastal State of a strait used for international navigation of its powers, recognized by international law, to intervene in the case of the casualties referred to in that article.
7. It considers that Article 233 must be interpreted, in any case, in conjunction with the provisions of Article 34.
8. It considers that, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 297 regarding the settlement of disputes, Articles 56, 61 and 62 of the Convention preclude considering as discretionary the powers of the coastal State to determine the allowable catch, its harvesting capacity and the allocation of surpluses to other States.
9. Its interpretation of Annex III, Article 9, is that the provisions thereof shall not obstruct participation, in the joint ventures referred to in paragraph 2, of the States Parties whose industrial potential precludes them from participating directly as contractors in the exploitation and resources of the Area."