International law, Sixth edition
parties asking the Court to determine a single maritime boundary ap-
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International Law MALCOLM N. SHAW
parties asking the Court to determine a single maritime boundary ap- plicable both to the continental shelf and the economic zone, the Court declared in the Jan Mayen Maritime Delimitation (Denmark v. Norway) case 254 that the two strands of the applicable law had to be examined separately. These strands related to the effect of article 6 of the Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, 1958 upon the continental shelf and the rules of customary international law with regard to the fishery zone. 255 Recent cases have seen further moves towards clarity and simplicity. In Eritrea/Yemen (Phase Two: Maritime Delimitation), the Tribunal noted that it was a generally accepted view that between coasts that are oppo- site to each other, the median or equidistance line normally provided an equitable boundary in accordance with the requirements of the 1982 Convention. 256 It also reaffirmed earlier case-law to the effect that propor- tionality was not an independent mode or principle of delimitation, but a test of the equitableness of a delimitation arrived at by other means. 257 The Tribunal also considered the role of mid-sea islands in a delimitation between opposite states and noted that to give them full effect would pro- duce a disproportionate effect. 258 Indeed, no effect was given to some of the islands in question. 259 In Qatar v. Bahrain, the Court emphasised the close relationship be- tween continental shelf and economic zone delimitations 260 and held that the appropriate methodology was first to provisionally draw an equidis- tance line and then to consider whether circumstances existed which must lead to an adjustment of that line. 261 Further, it was noted that ‘the equidistance/special circumstances’ rule, applicable to territorial sea 254 ICJ Reports, 1993, p. 37; 99 ILR, p. 395. See also M. D. Evans, ‘Case Concerning Maritime Delimitation in the Area Between Greenland and Jan Mayen (Denmark v. Norway)’, 43 ICLQ, 1994, p. 697. 255 But see the Separate Opinion of Judge Oda, who took the view that the regime of the continental shelf was independent of the concept of the exclusive economic zone and that the request to draw a single maritime boundary was misconceived, ICJ Reports, 1993, pp. 96–7; 99 ILR, pp. 464–5. 256 119 ILR, pp. 417, 457. 257 Ibid., p. 465. See also the North Sea Continental Shelf cases, ICJ Reports, 1969, pp. 3, 52; 41 ILR, p. 29 and the Anglo-French Continental Shelf case, Cmnd 7438; 54 ILR, p. 6. 258 119 ILR, p. 454. 259 Ibid., p. 461. Note that the Tribunal rejected the enclaving of some islands as had occurred in the Anglo-French Continental Shelf case, ibid., p. 463. 260 ICJ Reports, 2001, pp. 40, 110. 261 Ibid., p. 111. 604 i n t e r nat i o na l l aw delimitation, and the ‘equidistance/relevant circumstances’ rule as devel- oped since 1958 in case-law and practice regarding the delimitation of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone were ‘closely related’. 262 The Court did not consider the existence of pearling banks to be a circum- stance justifying a shift in the equidistance line 263 nor was the disparity in length of the coastal fronts of the states. 264 It was also considered that for reasons of equity in order to avoid disproportion, no effect could be given to Fasht al Jarim, a remote projection of Bahrain’s coastline in the Gulf area, which constituted a maritime feature located well out to sea and most of which was below water at high tide. 265 This approach was reaffirmed by the Court in Cameroon v. Nigeria, where it was noted that ‘the applicable criteria, principles and rules of delimitation’ concerning a line ‘covering several zones of coincident juris- diction’ could be expressed in ‘the so-called equitable principles/relevant circumstances method’. This method, ‘which is very similar to the equidis- tance/special circumstances method’ concerning territorial sea delimita- tion, ‘involves first drawing an equidistance line, then considering whether there are factors calling for the adjustment or shifting of that line in order to achieve an “equitable result”’. 266 Such a line had to be constructed on the basis of the relevant coastlines of the states in question and excluded taking into account the coastlines of third states and the coastlines of the Download 7.77 Mb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
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