scholarly journals Delineation process of the extended continental shelf: an interpretation of article 76, paragraph 6, of UNCLOS

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 873-899
Author(s):  
Francisco Lertora Pinto ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
The State ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Distance Constraint ◽  
Coastal State ◽  
Outer Limit ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The Law

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea established spe-cific rules for the delineation of the outer limit of the continental shelf in Article 76. This Article contains two formulae and two constraints. Regarding these constraints, the coastal State can apply, whichever is more favorable to its claim, unless the exception established under Article 76 (6), first sentence, applies. This exception establishes that, on submarine ridges, the State can only apply the 350 nautical miles distance constraint. However, Article 76 (6), second sentence, introduces a counter-exception and preserves the State’s right to ap-ply either constraint when the seafloor high is a submarine elevation that is a natural compo-nent of the continental margin

scholarly journals Continental Shelf From The Perspective Of The Law Of The Sea: An Introduction

Warta Geologi ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-28
Author(s):  
Mazlan Madon ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Short Note ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Coastal State ◽  
Outer Limit ◽  
Continental Shelves ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The Law

The entitlement of a coastal State over the seabed and subsoil in front of its landmass is provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), in particular Article 76 for the continental shelf. This short note in Malay gives a brief introduction to the concept of the “continental shelf” in the context of Article 76. This concept is important as a means by which coastal States may establish the outer limit of their continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles (M) measured from the territorial sea baselines. Once the outer limits have been established, coastal States are then able to exercise with certainty their sovereign rights over the extended continental shelf for the purposes of exploring and exploiting the natural resources of the seabed and subsoil, as provided for by UNCLOS. The establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 M is based on the principle of natural prolongation of land territory in Article 76. Geology also plays an important role in the process of determining the extent of the prolongation in accordance with the provisions of Article 76. For authors and students of this topic in Malay, it is proposed that the synonymous Malay terms for continental shelf – “pelantar benua” and “pentas benua” – be given specific meanings for use in their legal and geological contexts, respectively.

scholarly journals The Continental Shelf of Antarctica: Implications of the Requirement to Make a Submission to the CLCS under Article 76 of the LOS Convention

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex G. Oude Elferink
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Outer Limit ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractThis article looks at the question of how the obligation of states parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to submit information on the outer limit of their continental shelf to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and the regime established by the Antarctic Treaty can be reconciled. Under the latter Treaty states have 'agreed to disagree' about the legal status of Antarctica. The establishment of an outer limit of the continental shelf on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf would pose a threat to this agreement to disagree as it would recognise the existence of coastal states and maritime zones. The article sets out the options of the states involved to deal with this issue. It is concluded that there are a number of approaches which safeguard the rights of coastal states under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the agreement to disagree of the Antarctic Treaty.

The Operation of the CLCS Facing Disputes: An Examination of the Rules and Practices

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Michael Sheng-ti Gau ◽  
Gang Tang
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Coastal State ◽  
Rules Of Procedure ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law

Abstract The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) regulates the establishment of the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 miles by a coastal State. Such limits are legitimised when based on the recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) under LOSC Article 76(8). The coastal State must first submit the information for delineating the limits to the CLCS, which will evaluate the information before providing recommendations. The CLCS shall not consider the submission made by any State concerned in a land or maritime dispute unless consent from all disputing parties is given under paragraph 5(a) of Annex I to the CLCS Rules of Procedure. This article interprets paragraph 5(a) and examines the subsequent practice of States sending submissions and/or notifying the CLCS of disputes, and the CLCS in handling various submissions involved in these disputes.

Ridge Issues

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Taft ◽  
Hideo Kagami
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Outer Edge ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Oceanic Ridge ◽  
Coastal State ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Law ◽  
Definition Of

The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea sought to establish a definition of the continental shelf that would accommodate the interests of a number, albeit a minority, of coastal States. This included consideration of various submarine elevations, including ridges, and their relationship to the regime of the continental shelf. For a variety of reasons, submarine and oceanic ridges have proved to be contentious. Indeed, this chapter proved to be the most difficult of all the chapters in this book to obtain a text to which all the authors, scientists, and lawyers could agree. Therefore, rather than produce an anodyne chapter which might have summarized only those areas of agreement, we considered it best to also cover areas where agreement was lacking. This provides the reader with both sides of the argument and the opportunity to reach their own view on the basis of the evidence presented. Some of the contentious areas are . . . i. Whether or not article 76 should be interpreted in such a manner as to preclude a country situated on a ridge from having a continental shelf beyond 200 M. ii. Whether bathymetry (reflecting geomorphology) should be given more or less weight than, or the same weight as geology in any consideration of a continental shelf beyond 200 M, including extension along an oceanic ridge, iii. Whether the fact that article 76 refers to the continental shelf being a natural prolongation of the land territory "to the outer edge of the continental margin" means that it can (or cannot) be applied to an island sitting on top of an oceanic ridge, iv. Whether or not article 76 can be interpreted in such a way as to allow a coastal State to "jump" its claim from the margin onto an adjacent ridge. v. Whether or not article 76 limits the use of ridges so that coastal States do not unreasonably extend their continental shelf regime. . . . Ultimately, for the answers to these questions, the reader will need to look to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (the Commission), together with the outcome of diplomacy.

The Continental Shelf Regime in the Law of the Sea Convention: A Reflection on the First Thirty Years

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted L. McDorman
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Geneva Convention ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Outer Limit ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The Law

Abstract The international legal regime of the continental shelf was largely adopted in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea without change from that in the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf. What was added in the 1982 Convention was that all States have a legal shelf out to 200 nautical miles (nm) and that beyond 200 nm there is a formula and process for States to establish their outer limit of the shelf. Amongst the several developments that have taken place in the last 30 years respecting the continental shelf regime noted in this article, the most surprising is the number of States that have indicated that they have an area of shelf beyond 200 nm, which far exceeds the number of States seen in 1982 as having such a possibility.

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and its Disturbing Propensity to Legislate

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Serdy
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Continental Shelves ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law

AbstractCreated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to apply the rules in Article 76 on the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from States’ territorial sea baselines, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf has on several occasions introduced new requirements for States not supported by Article 76, or impermissibly qualifying the rights Article 76 accords them. This article focuses on several such instances, one to the coastal State’s advantage (though temporally rather than spatially), another neutral (though requiring unnecessary work of States), but the remainder all tending to reduce the area of continental shelves. The net effect has been to deprive States of areas of legal continental shelf to which a reasonable interpretation of Article 76 entitles them, and in one case even of their right to have their submissions examined on their merits, even though, paradoxically, the well-meaning intention behind at least some of the Commission’s pronouncements was to avoid other controversies.

The Work of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf: Current Accomplishments and Challenges on the Verge of Its 20th Anniversary

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-70
Author(s):  
Paula M. Vernet
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
20Th Anniversary ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
Conditions Of Work

2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), in coincidence with its 43rd session. This session has been the last before the expiration of the term of office of its current members. Elections were held in June. During this five year period, the CLCS faced great challenges: the workload of the Commission increased dramatically, stays in New York became longer, conditions of work became an issue; the complexity of the Submissions required new interpretations and more time for their consideration; new revised Submissions were made and brought new alterations in the order of Submissions on the list waiting to be analysed. This article provides some views on the work carried out by the CLCS following the election of members of the Commission at the twenty-second Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, held in June 2012, up to December 2016, in an attempt to assess the accomplishments and challenges of the last five years.

Innocent Passage of Warships

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anh Duc Ton
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
North Korea ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Coastal State ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Law

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (losc) is well known as the “Constitution for the Oceans”; however, the passage of foreign warships through the territorial sea of a coastal State is not clearly addressed. All East Asian littoral States (except North Korea and Cambodia) are parties to the losc but their practices regarding the innocent passage of warships are different. This article provides an analysis of the innocent passage regime of the losc, the practice of East Asian littoral States regarding the innocent passage of warships as well as factors that have influenced the trends in their practices.

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