The Timor Sea Conciliation and Treaty: Timor-Leste’s Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-57
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Exposto
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Timor Leste ◽  
Timor Sea ◽  
The Law

Abstract The delimitation of maritime boundaries between Timor-Leste and Australia was a historic process initiated under the compulsory conciliation mechanism in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The resulting Treaty between the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and Australia Establishing their Maritime Boundaries in the Timor Sea (‘Timor Sea Treaty’) reflects a remarkable achievement for the young nation of Timor-Leste in securing its sovereign maritime rights. This contribution examines the historical context which led to the Timor Sea Treaty, the challenges faced during the negotiation process, and the significance of the Timor Sea Treaty to the renewed relationship between the two countries.

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.

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.

The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea

1976 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabtai Rosenne
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Special Rapporteur ◽  
Priority List ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Law ◽  
High Seas

This article is divided into four parts. The first aims to place the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea in its historical context. The second describes some aspects of the first three sessions of that Conference (1973–1975). In the third an account of major specific interests and conflicts which have appeared in this Conference is given. Finally, some tentative conclusions are drawn—tentative, because the Conference has not yet completed its labours.During its first session (1949) the newly established International Law Commission, set up by the General Assembly in accordance with the provision of Article 13 of the Charter relating to the codification and progressive development of international law, included the topics of the régime of the high seas and the régime of territorial waters in its provisional list of fourteen topics selected for codification. It placed the régime of the high seas on its priority list, and appointed Professor J.P.A. François (The Netherlands) as special rapporteur. At the recommendation of the General Assembly in resolution 374 (IV) of 6 December 1949 the Commission in 1950 included the régime of territorial waters on its priority list, and in 1951 it initiated work on that topic, for which Professor François was also designated special rapporteur. The Commission was heavily occupied with both these topics until 1956.

Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor), Timor Sea Coast

2021 ◽  
Vol 100 (sp1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Finkl ◽  
Christopher Makowski
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Republic ◽  
East Timor ◽  
Timor Leste ◽  
Timor Sea ◽  
Sea Coast

The Timor Sea Treaty: An Australian Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-42
Author(s):  
Ben Huntley ◽  
Amelia Telec ◽  
Justin Whyatt
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Positive Outcome ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
Timor Leste ◽  
Timor Sea ◽  
Gas Fields ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Important Milestone

Abstract In March 2018, Australia and Timor-Leste signed a treaty in a ceremony in New York, witnessed by the UN Secretary-General, which will permanently delimit their maritime boundaries and establish a special regime over the Greater Sunrise gas fields in the Timor Sea. Not only does this Treaty represent an important milestone in the relationship between the two States, it also marks the successful conclusion of the first-ever conciliation conducted under the dispute resolution provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (unclos). How this untested process led to the ending of the long-running and complex dispute over maritime delimitation in the Timor Sea merits further consideration. This article will provide an Australian perspective on these historic proceedings, focussing on how the process led to a positive outcome for the Parties and the key features of the agreement reached. We will begin by outlining briefly the background to the dispute between Australia and Timor-Leste. We will then consider the nature of the conciliation provisions of unclos, and what makes them unique. We will then explore some of the procedural aspects of the Timor-Leste/Australia Conciliation which led to a successful outcome in the proceedings. Finally, we will outline the key elements of the agreement reached between the Parties.

Was it Worth the Effort?

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 875-881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughan Lowe
Keyword(s):  
Negotiation Process ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Unclos

Abstract This article asks whether the effort involved in the nine years of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) negotiation was worthwhile. It finds various styles of treaty-making in the Law of the Sea Convention and examines some of the dynamics of the UNCLOS III negotiation process which provide possible reasons for this unusual mix of treaty-making models. It then assesses whether this monumental international treaty-making venture was indeed worth the effort.

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 Remarks by Bernard H. Oxman

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 288-291
Author(s):  
Bernard H. Oxman
Keyword(s):  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Timor Leste ◽  
The Law

The chair of the panel, Professor Alina Miron, asked Professor Oxman to address the following: Undoubtedly the first use of the mechanism of compulsory conciliation under Annex V of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea by Timor-Leste was a tremendous success, though not devoid of obstacles. What are the lessons that can be learned from this first experience? How different from the judicial mechanisms were the Commission's functions and procedures?

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