Definitions
The law of maritime delimitation refers to the fixing of the limits of maritime zones between two or more coastal states. Maritime delimitation is necessary if states’ entitlements to maritime zones overlap (Evans 2015, p. 261). In contrast, although the terms are not always used correctly in the international law literature, the term “delineation” refers to a unilateral declaration concerning the outer limit of a state’s maritime zone where there are no potential overlaps with neighboring states’ demands. The need for maritime delimitation can arise in two settings: adjacent states and opposite states. In the case of adjacent states who share a land boundary which terminates at one point at the coast, the question arises how to extend that boundary into the adjacent maritime space. If opposite coastal states cannot both extend their maritime zones to the maximum limit allowed by the international law of the sea without interfering with one another, they need to delimit...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Evans MD (2015) Maritime boundary delimitation. In: Rothwell DR, Oude Elfererink A, Scott KN, Stephens T (eds) Oxford handbook of the law of the sea. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 254–279
International Arbitral Tribunal (1977) (ad hoc), Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the French Republic (United Kingdom v. France) Decision of 14 March 1977, RIAA, vol XVII, pp 3–413
International Arbitral Tribunal (1992) (ad hoc), Delimitation of Maritime Areas between Canada and France (Canada v. France) Decision of 10June 1992, RIAA, vol XXI, pp 265–341
International Arbitral Tribunal (2014) Case Concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, decision of 14 February 1985, RIAA, vol XIX, pp 149–196
International Court of Justice (1969) North Sea Continental Shelf Cases (Federal Republic of Germany v Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany v Netherlands) Judgment of 20 February 1969, ICJ Reports 1969, pp 3–56
International Court of Justice (1982) Case Concerning the Continental Shelf (Tunisia/Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) Judgment of 24 February 1982, ICJ Reports 1982, pp 18–94
International Court of Justice (1984) Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary in the Gulf of Maine Area (Canada v United States) Judgment of 12 October 1984, ICJ Reports 1984, pp 246–352
International Court of Justice (1985) Case Concerning the Continental Shelf (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya v. Malta) Judgment of 3 June 1985, ICJ Reports 1985, pp 13–58
International Court of Justice (1993) Maritime Delimitation in the Area between Greenland and Jan Mayen (Denmark v Norway) Judgment of 14 June 1993, ICJ Reports 1993, pp 38–82
International Court of Justice (2007) Case Concerning Territorial and Maritime Dispute Between Nicaragua and Honduras in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v Honduras) Judgment of 8 October 2007, ICJ Reports 2007, pp 659–764
International Court of Justice (2009) Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine) Judgment of 3 February 2009, ICJ Reports 2009, pp 61–134
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (2012) Dispute concerning delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal (Bangladesh v Myanmar) Judgment of 14 March 2012, ITLOS Case No. 16:2012
Permanent Court of Arbitration (1909) The Grisbårdana Case (Norway v. Sweden), decision of 23 October 1909
Permanent Court of Arbitration (2014) Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary Arbitration (The People’s Republic of Bangladesh v. The Republic of India) Award of 7 July 2014, PCA Case No. 2010–16
Rothwell D, Stephens T (2016) The international law of the sea. Hart, Oxford, pp 412–444
Scovazzi T (2012) Maritime Delimitation Cases before International Courts and Tribunals. In: Wolfrum R (ed) Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, online edn. www.mpepil.com
Tanaka Y (2019) Predictability and flexibility in the law of maritime delimitation. Hart, Oxford
Publisher’s note:
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Matz-Lück, N., Masche, C. (2021). Understanding the Law of Maritime Delimitation. In: Kocsis, M. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Territorial Rights. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68846-6_52-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68846-6_52-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-68846-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-68846-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities