This course aims to provide the basis to understand the evolution and current state of the Law of the Sea, with a particular focus on the process that led to the adoption of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the main institutions of bodies shaping the current global governance of the oceans, the central rights and obligations of States in the different maritime zones, as well as recent developments and challenges such as: the protection and sustainable use of biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, deep seabed mining activities and the protection of the marine environment, the regulation of international fisheries, maritime piracy, human rights at sea, or the EU Integrated Maritime Policy and Common Fisheries Policy.