Mare territoriale e nuovi interessi energetici

The paper offers points for a reflection on the legal regime of the territorial sea. In the past, this has always been considered res communis omnium because of the pubblic use of the sea, but today the private demand for exclusive use of territorial sea areas for the purpose of producing energy is growing. The deregulation of energy production has led to a growing private interest in placing power plants off-shore. In this new perspective the interests involved are many and it is not easy to reconcile them. The exclusive use of the territorial sea must be compared to the need to preserve the environment and to the rules governing the freedom and safety of navigation as well as to the complex structure of functional skills and regulations of the State and the Regions on the coastal territory. The paper focuses on this complex issue and on some recent Italian cases law in the light of the 2007 Community initiative to encourage a coordinated approach to maritime spatial planning.