A fundamental principle of international
maritime law (IML) is the concept of
exclusive jurisdictional rights over a ship in international waters belonging to the state under
whose flag it is registered. This statement implies that only the said State has the authority to
make legislative, judicial and executive decisions regarding a vessel and its crew in international waters outside the territorial waters. For
understanding this principle of exclusive jurisdiction of flag state (EJFS), we need to take a deep
dive into the concepts of the vessel and its status,
and also look at the state that is recognized as
the flag state for a given vessel.