This article will provide a critical overview of the current international legal framework for the designation of area-based protection beyond national jurisdiction as well as selected examples of global and regional practice to date. It will highlight some of the legal and other challenges in employing spatial management tools in a three dimensional and highly dynamic environment that lies beyond the jurisdiction of states or of any one overarching institution. This article will conclude with a brief assessment of the various proposals that are currently under discussion as part of the negotiations for an instrument to support the conservation of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (the BBNJ negotiations) to create a global framework for the designation of MPAs and other area-based measures beyond the jurisdiction of states.