President Donald Trump on Thursday destabilized a global effort to limit mining in the deep sea, signing an executive order on Thursday that could eventually open up international waters to excavation firms that the United States unilaterally deems worthy.
I know this is a stupid question, but is that even legal?
A better question to ask, what will be done if it is illegal? If there’s no consequences to illegal actions then what does it matter other than having an “il” in front of legal?
The US hasn’t ratified UNCLOS, so in terms of international law, it’s not bound by anything, though Executive Branches in the US have generally acted as if they are bound. Trump, on the other hand, doesn’t even pay much attention to internal US conventions and rams right up against what’s legally-proscribed, in addition to being actively hostile to internationalism, so I don’t know how much he’s going to care about convention here.
i wonder what real role “international law” plays against “international toleration”. that said, who’s going to fuck with history’s most powerful king? nothing about this is shaping up well…
It orders the permit-granting agencies to expedite the permits, so probably.
Not that legal or illegal matters to the government any more.