Three Steps or Three Pitfalls?: Are we moving closer to certainty in maritime delimitation?

Description:

The relevant articles in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea addressing the drawing of boundaries in the EEZ or continental shelf only require there to be an equitable solution. Achieving this is the task of courts and tribunals and over the last twenty years, they have developed a three-stage methodology that (1) draws a provisional equidistance line, (2) adjusts this line in the light of any relevant circumstances, and (3) assesses the final result to check for any disproportion between the ratio of the allocated areas and the ratio of the coastal lengths.

This three-stage process has been central to all the recent maritime boundary cases and seemed finally to have provided a rigorous and objective method for delimitation that should produce predictable results. However, each of the stages is subject to technical issues; the courts have surreptitiously introduced extra layers of subjectivity; and the final ‘disproportionality’ test has never been failed – casting doubts on its validity.

This presentation will review the law and process of delimitation, critique the latest judgments and assess whether we will ever be able to prejudge the results of an adjudicated maritime boundary.

About the speaker:

Dr. Robin Cleverly has been named an Honorary Doctor of Maritime Law. He works for Marbdy Consulting Ltd, Maritime Boundary Experts in the UK and is one of the world's leading experts in demarcation at sea. He has been an expert in most of the disputes over marine demarcations before the United Nations International Court of Justice, the International Court of Justice and the Arbitration Tribunal in The Hague. Without being a lawyer, he has extensive knowledge in the field of international law and is a sought-after adviser to governments around the world.

More information about Dr. Robin Cleverly