Maritime Boundary Delimitation Beyond 200 Nautical Miles: The International Judiciary and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 580-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Øystein Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Maritime Boundary ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
The Law ◽  
Maritime Boundary Delimitation ◽  
The Relationship

This article examines the legal significance of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in third-party dispute settlement regarding delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea baselines. Recent international jurisprudence indicates that the relationship between the procedures of the 1982 un Convention on the Law of the Sea involving the Commission and third-party dispute settlement is marked by lack of clarity, bringing procedural and substantive legal challenges in the view of the international judiciary. The procedures involving the Commission may influence a dispute settlement body’s decision to exercise its jurisdiction to delimit continental shelf areas beyond 200 nautical miles. Also in terms of continental shelf entitlement—determining what is legally a “continental shelf” and what is not—the Commission plays a crucial role.

scholarly journals The Law of the Sea, International Courts, and Judicialization

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 373-377
Author(s):  
Donald R. Rothwell
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
International Courts ◽  
Maritime Boundary ◽  
Timor Leste ◽  
The Law ◽  
Secondary Mechanism ◽  
Maritime Boundary Delimitation

Dispute settlement is entrenched in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) through the Part XV compulsory mechanisms. It is also reflected in UNCLOS's indication that delimitation of the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf is to be by way of agreement between coastal states. While maritime boundary delimitation may be viewed as dominated by judicialization, that is not reflected in UNCLOS. The maritime boundary delimitation project unleashed by UNCLOS gave primacy to delimitation by agreement, with third party settlement under Part XV the secondary mechanism. The 2018 Australia/Timor-Leste maritime boundary settlement highlights how, even when Part XV third party mechanisms were used, the coastal states were able to reach agreement on a maritime boundary by negotiation, without recourse to judicialization.

scholarly journals Dispute Settlement in the Law of the Sea: Survey for 2012

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Churchill
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
International Tribunal ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
Maritime Boundary ◽  
The Law ◽  
Maritime Boundary Delimitation

Abstract This is the latest in a series of annual surveys reviewing dispute settlement in the law of the sea, both under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and outside the framework of the Convention. The main developments during 2012 were the delivery of judgments by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in the Bangladesh/Myanmar case and by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Nicaragua/Colombia case, both concerned with maritime boundary delimitation; and the institution of Annex VII arbitration by Argentina against Ghana relating to the arrest of a State-owned vessel and the subsequent order of provisional measures by the ITLOS. These and other developments are reviewed in detail below.

Dispute Settlement in the Law of the Sea: Survey for 2014

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 585-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Churchill
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
Maritime Boundary ◽  
Main Development ◽  
Judicial Proceedings ◽  
The Law ◽  
Maritime Boundary Delimitation

This is the latest in a series of annual surveys reviewing dispute settlement in the law of the sea, both under the un Convention on the Law of the Sea and outside the framework of the Convention. The main development during 2014 was the delivery of four judgments—two by the International Court of Justice (one concerning maritime boundary delimitation between Peru and Chile, the other the Whaling case between Australia and Japan); one by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, concerning the arrest and detention of a Panamanian vessel by Guinea-Bissau; and one by an Annex vii arbitral tribunal, concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and India. In addition, the dispute between Denmark (in respect of the Faroe Islands) and the European Union over the management of a shared stock of Atlanto-Scandian herring was settled; and judicial proceedings in three new cases (all concerning maritime boundary delimitation) were initiated. These and other developments are reviewed in detail.

Dispute Settlement in the Law of the Sea: Survey for 2011

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Churchill
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Advisory Opinion ◽  
Arbitral Tribunal ◽  
International Tribunal ◽  
Sea Bed ◽  
International Court ◽  
Maritime Boundary ◽  
The Law ◽  
Maritime Boundary Delimitation

Abstract This is the latest in a series of annual surveys reviewing dispute settlement in the law of the sea, both under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and outside the framework of the Convention. The main developments during 2011 were: the delivery by the Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber of its advisory opinion on Responsibilities and Obligations of States sponsoring Persons and Entities with respect to Activities in the Area; the referral of a new case to the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea (ITLOS) relating to the arrest and detention of a bunkering vessel in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (the Virginia G case); the International Court of Justice’s judgments rejecting the requests of Costa Rica and Honduras to intervene in the Nicaragua/Colombia maritime boundary delimitation case; the decision of the arbitral tribunal in the Mauritius/United Kingdom case to reject a challenge to the appointment of one of the arbitrators; the activation of the Croatia/Slovenia arbitration agreement; and the fifth triennial election of ITLOS judges.

The Oxford Handbook of the Law of the Sea

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Maritime Boundary ◽  
Hugo Grotius ◽  
Gradual Development ◽  
The Law ◽  
John Selden ◽  
Operational Issues ◽  
Maritime Boundary Delimitation ◽  
Oceans Management

Human activities have taken place in the world's oceans and seas for most of human history. With such a vast number of ways in which the oceans can be used for trade, exploited for natural resources and fishing, as well as concerns over maritime security, the legal systems regulating the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans have long been a crucial part of international law. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea comprehensively defined the parameters of the law of the sea in 1982, and since the Convention was concluded it has seen considerable development. This book provides an analysis of its current debates and controversies, both theoretical and practical. It consists of forty chapters divided into six parts. First, it explains the origins and evolution of the law of the sea, with a particular focus upon the role of key publicists such as Hugo Grotius and John Selden, the gradual development of state practice, and the creation of the 1982 UN Convention. It then reviews the components which comprise the maritime domain, assessing their definition, assertion, and recognition. It also analyzes the ways in which coastal states or the international community can assert control over areas of the sea, and the management and regulation of each of the maritime zones. This includes investigating the development of the mechanisms for maritime boundary delimitation, and the decisions of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The book also discusses the actors and intuitions that impact on the law of the sea, considering their particular rights and interests, in particular those of state actors and the principle law of the sea institutions. Then it focuses on operational issues, investigating longstanding matters of resource management and the integrated oceans framework. This includes a discussion and assessment of the broad and increasingly influential integrated oceans management governance framework that interacts with the traditional law of the sea. It considers six distinctive regions that have been pivotal to the development of the law of the sea, before finally providing a detailed analysis of the critical contemporary issues facing the law of the sea. These include threatened species, climate change, bioprospecting, and piracy.

scholarly journals The Timor Sea Conciliation: The Unique Mechanism of Dispute Settlement

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 321-344
Author(s):  
Dai Tamada
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Economic Factor ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
International Court ◽  
Maritime Boundary ◽  
Timor Sea ◽  
The Law ◽  
Gas Fields ◽  
Unique Mechanism

Abstract The maritime boundary dispute between Timor-Leste and Australia was submitted to the compulsory conciliation procedure under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This is the first instance of conciliation, whether voluntary or compulsory, under UNCLOS. The Timor Sea conciliation led to the successful settlement of the long-standing deadlock between the parties that had hitherto not been settled by negotiation and had no possibility of being settled by litigation (within, for example, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea or International Court of Justice proceedings) or arbitration (within the context of an UNCLOS Annex VII tribunal). This article aims to elucidate the unique mechanism of conciliation and, to this end, analyses both the procedural particularities of conciliation under UNCLOS and the substantive considerations in conciliation proceedings. The author places emphasis, in particular, on the fundamental importance of the economic factor in the Timor Sea maritime delimitation – namely, the sharing ratio of the natural resources in the Greater Sunrise gas fields. Being a definitive factor for the success of this conciliation, it was the economics of this dispute that incentivized the parties to compromise and settle. Furthermore, given that conciliation is a most elucidating piece in the rather complicated puzzle that is the UNCLOS dispute settlement mechanism, the Timor Sea conciliation offers valuable insights into this mechanism.

Rethinking the Concept of Historic Rights in International Law

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-165
Author(s):  
Ying Wang
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Maritime Boundary ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
Maritime Boundary Delimitation

Abstract Historic rights have been acknowledged by international legislation including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, although many issues concerning the concept still remain uncertain. This article will mainly discuss the legal connotation and juridical functions of the concept of ‘historic rights’ for maritime entitlements and maritime boundary delimitation, and attempt to clarify some legal ambiguity and explain the function of the legal regime through analysis of legal documents and identification of typical difficulties in the application of the concept of ‘historic rights’.

Dispute Settlement in the Law of the Sea: Survey for 2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Churchill
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
Maritime Boundary ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Timor Leste ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Law

AbstractThis is the latest in a series of annual surveys in this Journal reviewing dispute settlement in the law of the sea, both under Part XV of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and outside the framework of the Convention. It covers developments during 2018. The most significant developments during the year were the judgment of the International Court of Justice in Costa Rica v. Nicaragua, delimiting the maritime boundaries between the two States’ overlapping maritime zones in both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean; the report of the Conciliation Commission concerning maritime boundary arrangements between Timor-Leste and Australia; and the findings of a dispute settlement body of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization.

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