UNCLOS entered into force under article 308, twelve months after the sixtieth instrument of ratification was deposited

Background

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world's oceans and seas, with rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.
It was opened for signature on 10 December 1982 at Montego Bay in Jamaica.
That was the culmination of more than 14 years of work involving more than 150 countries from all regions and all legal and political systems.
The Convention entered into force in accordance with its article 308 on 16 November 1994, twelve months after the sixtieth instrument of ratification or accession was deposited.
It rests on the idea that all problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and must be addressed as a whole.
Tommy T. B. Koh of Singapore, President of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, called it a Constitution for the Oceans.