International law, Sixth edition
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International Law MALCOLM N. SHAW
Baselines
21 The width of the territorial sea is defined from the low-water mark around the coasts of the state. This is the traditional principle under customary international law and was reiterated in article 3 of the Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone in 1958 and article 5 of the 1982 Convention, and the low-water line along the coast is defined ‘as marked on large-scale charts officially recognised by the coastal state’. 22 In the majority of cases, it will not be very difficult to locate the low- water line which is to act as the baseline for measuring the width of the territorial sea. 23 By virtue of the 1958 Convention on the Territorial Sea and the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, the low-water line of a low-tide elevation 24 may now be used as a baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea if it is situated wholly or partly within the the territorial sea Entry into Maritime Ports in International Law’, 14 San Diego Law Review, 1977, p. 597, and O’Connell, International Law of the Sea, vol. II, chapter 22. See also the Dangerous Vessels Act 1985. 20 See The Schooner Exchange v. McFaddon 7 Cranch 116 (1812). See also 930 HC Deb., col. 450, Written Answers, 29 April 1977. 21 See e.g. W. M. Reisman and G. S. Westerman, Straight Baselines in International Mar- itime Boundary Delimitation, New York, 1992; J. A. Roach and R. W. Smith, United States Responses to Excessive Maritime Claims, 2nd edn, The Hague, 1996, and L. Sohn, ‘Base- line Considerations’ in International Maritime Boundaries (eds. J. I. Charney and L. M. Alexander), Dordrecht, 1993, vol. I, p. 153. 22 See Qatar v. Bahrain, ICJ Reports, 2001, pp. 40, 97 and Eritrea/Yemen (Phase Two: Maritime Delimitation), 119 ILR, pp. 417, 458. See also Churchill and Lowe, Law of the Sea, chapter 2; O’Connell, International Law of the Sea, vol. I, chapter 5; Oppenheim’s International Law, p. 607, and M. Mendelson, ‘The Curious Case of Qatar v. Bahrain in the International Court of Justice’, 72 BYIL, 2001, p. 183. 23 See the Dubai/Sharjah Border Award 91 ILR, pp. 543, 660–3, where the Arbitral Tribunal took into account the outermost permanent harbour works of the two states as part of the coast for the purpose of drawing the baselines. 24 See article 11(1), Convention on the Territorial Sea, 1958 and article 13(1), Law of the Sea Convention, 1982. A low-tide elevation is a naturally formed area of land which is surrounded by and above water at low tide, but submerged at high tide. See e.g. G. Marston, ‘Low-Tide Elevations and Straight Baselines’, 46 BYIL, 1972–3, p. 405, and D. Bowett, ‘Islands, Rocks, Reefs and Low-Tide Elevations in Maritime Boundary Delimitations’ in Charney and Alexander, International Maritime Boundaries, vol. I, p. 131. t h e l aw o f t h e s e a 559 measured from the mainland or an island. However, a low-tide elevation wholly situated beyond the territorial sea will generate no territorial sea of its own. 25 When a low-tide elevation is situated in the overlapping area of the territorial sea of two states, both are in principle entitled to use this as part of the relevant low-water line in measuring their respective territorial sea. 26 However, the International Court has taken the view that low-tide elevations may not be regarded as part of the territory of the state concerned and thus cannot be fully assimilated with islands. 27 A low-tide elevation with a lighthouse or similar installation built upon it may be used for the purpose of drawing a straight baseline. 28 Sometimes, however, the geography of the state’s coasts will be such as to cause certain problems: for instance, where the coastline is deeply indented or there are numerous islands running parallel to the coasts, or where there exist bays cutting into the coastlines. Special rules have evolved to deal with this issue, which is of importance to coastal states, Download 7.77 Mb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
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