In 1968, The American scholar John Cobb Cooper stated that 'too little attention has been given To The legal control of flight above the high seas which cover a large percentage of the earth's surface.' With certain notable exceptions this has remained true despite the acknowledged commercial, strategic and environmental significance of the airspace over the high seas. Intended especially for students and teachers of public international law but also for anyone with a professional interest in air law, this book seeks to give the legal regime of the airspace of the high seas the profile it clearly deserves. Chapters on delimitation and jurisdiction establish the conceptual foundation for an examination of particular aspects of the regime: the maintenance of public order (hot pursuit, piracy, broadcasting, environmental protection) the strategic use of the airspace of the high seas (air defence identification zones the prevention of incidents atmospheric nuclear testing the deployment of weapons) the use of force. Looking To The future, The final chapter discusses the desirability of regarding the airspace of the high seas as the common heritage of mankind. it concludes by offering a 'Declaration of Legal Principles concerning the Airspace of the High Seas' which might one day form the basis of the international convention.