Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act, 1878. Country/Territory British Virgin Islands (UK) Document type Legislation Date 1878 Source FAO, FAOLEX Original source National legislation, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, United Nations. Subject Sea Keyword Maritime zone Territorial sea Enforcement/compliance Sovereignty Geographical area Americas, Caribbean, Latin America and the Caribbean, North Atlantic, Small Island Developing States Abstract This Act declares an offence committed by a person, whether British or foreigner, on the open sea within the territorial waters of Her Majesty's dominions, to an offence within the jurisdiction of the Admiral. The territorial waters of Her Majesty's dominions” here means such part of the sea adjacent to the coast of the United Kingdom, or the coast of some other part of Her Majesty's dominions, as is deemed by international law to be within the territorial sovereignty of Her Majesty; and for the purpose of any offence declared by this Act to be within the jurisdiction of the Admiral, any part of the open sea within one marine league of the coast measured from the low-water mark shall be deemed to be open sea within the territorial waters of Her Majesty's dominions. Full text English Website www.un.org