Y. It is further provided that no person (including a Foreign Government) can carry out any construction, exploration, search, drilling or research with the continental shelf or construct, maintain or operate any artificial Islands, offshore terminals, installations or other structure or device for any purpose without procuring a license or a letter of authority from the Central Government. According to Article 76 of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea . Kapoor, International Law & Human Rights 265 (19th edn., Central Law Agency, Allahabad, 2014). Further, Section 6(3) lays down the rights of the Union of India with respect to such area-. Therefore, the characterization of the rights of a coastal state to continental shelf natural resources as real property rights is a well-developed doctrine. (a) to the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 meters or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural resources of the said areas; (b) to the seabed and subsoil of similar submarine areas adjacent to the coasts of islands.[3]. 6. Lastly, Article 83 provides that the delimitation of Continental Shelf between states with opposite or adjoining coasts will be made by an agreement in accordance with the Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, to achieve an equitable solution. Copyright © 2020 Lawctopus. Geologically Continental shelf may be defined as “the zone around the continent extending from the low water line to the depth at which there is usually a marked increase of declivity to greater depth.”[xxi] The Continental Shelf is the gently sloping undersea plain between a continent and the deep ocean. Refer to the leading cases & to the British & U.S .practice. [2] S.K. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which is the federal vehicle for the mineral development of the nation's offshore areas, incorporates the broad scope of international law in providing that it is applicable to the "outer continental shelf", "all submerged lands lying seaward and Any resource (mineral, oil, gas, plant, fisheries) found in those two areas belong exclusively to the Philippines. (1970) "Law of the Continental Shelf and Ocean Resources—An Overview ,"Cornell International Law Journal: Vol. The continental shelf of a coastal State shall not extend beyond the limits provided for in paragraphs 4 to 6. The rate shall increase by 1 per cent of the value for each subsequent year until twelfth year and shall remain at 7 percent thereafter. CLRS Academy’s Free Webinar on “Strategies to Crack CLAT PG / AILET PG” – In conversation with CLAT PG & AILET PG Qualified Scholars. Further, in cases where the continental shelf extends to the shores of another state or is shared with an adjoining state, the boundary shall be determined by the United States and the state concerned according to equitable principles without affecting the freedom of navigation in the high seas. For more information, please contact jmp8@cornell.edu. 33. Nikolaos A. Ioannidis is a PhD candidate in Public International Law at University of Bristol.. Last month, Turkey submitted a note verbaleto the Secretary-General of the United Nations setting out the geographical coordinates of its continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean, as established by a delimitation agreement with the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" ("TRNC"). 4th session of the International Law Commission (1952) Comments by governments on the draft articles on the continental shelf and related subjects prepared by the International Law Commission at its third session in 1951 ; A/CN.4/55/Add.1 and Rev.1, Add.2-6 (in ILC Report, A/2456 (A/8/9), 1953, annex II) Further, Paragraph 4(a) of Article 76 laid down the method of establishing the outer edge of the established continental margin and the formula for fixing the precise limits of the Continental Shelf of a coastal state was mentioned in Paragraph 5 of Article 76. Subsequently, the United Kingdom and United States, although acting independently, initiated a new legal regime in this regard. Jennings, Robert, and Arthur Watts, eds. At present, the U.N. Convention on the Law of Sea, 1982 regulates the areas of Continental Shelf, dealing with all the aspects of their delimitation and the various rights of the coastal states as well of the other states with respect to them. View this case and other resources at: Citation. The continental shelf, in its geological sense, is very un-equally distributed around the continent. designation, the continental shelf. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1999. The developed states applied the exploitation criterion. What principles and rules of international law are applicable to the delimitation of the area of the continental shelf which appertains to the Republic of Malta and the area of continental shelf which appertains to the Libyan Arab Republic, and how in practice such principles and rules can be applied by the two Parties in this particular case . Guterridge, The 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, 35 Brit. This was a component of the continent during glacial periods, but remains below the sea during interglacial periods. Editor’s Note: A continental shelf is the edge of a continent that lies under the ocean. Crawford, James. The North Sea Continental Shelf Case is a classic case for something other than what the case is ultimately about. This survey of maritime law as it applies to the Antarctic continent and surrounding seas, includes biogeography, sovereignty, offshore jurisdiction, the continental shelf, environmental protection and conservation, and the legal status of ... Your current browser may not support copying via this button. A bit of reading never hurts. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation and International Law, The UN Partition Plan for Palestine and International Law. This regime—which acquired its name simply from its geological counterpart—is, basically, one of the maritime zones in which coastal states exercise sovereign rights and jurisdiction. TRIPS Waiver: Not the Solution We Have Been Looking For! The Continental Shelf Delimitation Beyond 200 Nautical Miles provides an up-to-date and informed analysis of the now fast developing, yet confusing, field of the law of maritime delimitation. 2, Article 1. 19 Opinio juris rules can even come from treaties . [7] Such rights are exclusive in the sense that no other state may undertake such activities without the express consent of the coastal state.[8]. 8 CONTINENTAL SHELF (JUDGMENT) By Orders of 8 March 1967, taking into account the agreement reached between the Parties, 21 August 1967 and 20 February 1968 were fixed respec- tively as the time-limits for the filing of the Memorials and Counter-Memorials. J. Int'l L. 828, 849 (1956).,a McDougal and Burke, The Public Order of Ocean, p. 636, n. 218. International Lawyer, Vol. In 1945, President Harry S. Truman extended the U.S.'s control to all the natural resources on its continental shelf, under the customary international law principle that a nation has a right to protect its natural resources. In both Nicaragua v.Colombia cases, the International Court of Justice upheld that international tribunals may delimit the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles prior to the establishment of the continental shelf's outer limits. An historical account of the emergence of the law of the sea, in which Anand pays special attention to the 20th century and acceptance of new maritime zones in international practice, including fisheries zones and continental shelves. 3: Iss. This is the first book to explore the concept of 'Grotian Moments'. Articles 74 and 83 of the Convention are similarly worded and provide that: (1) The delimitation of the exclusive economic zone [continental shelf] between States with opposite or adjacent coasts shall be effected by agreement on the basis of international law, as referred to in Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice . Secondly, the exercise of the right of the coastal states over the continental shelf must not infringe or result in any unjustifiable interference with navigation rights and freedom of other States. "States only are the subjects of International Law' Discuss. The Gulf of Paria Treaty was initiated by the United Kingdom with Venezuela. The book is an excellent introduction for advanced students to the continental shelf regime, in terms of its definition, substantive rights, and delimitation. Synopsis of Rule […] [xvii] However, “The rights of the coastal State over the continental shelf do not affect the regime of freedom of navigation on the high seas or that of the airspace above the superjacent waters or the Epicontinental Sea.”[xviii], Other states have been given a few rights over the continental shelf. A continental shelf is a term that refers to the ledges that protrude from the continental land mass into the ocean. A line delineated in accordance with paragraph 7 by reference to fixed points not more than 60 nautical miles from the foot of the continental slope. Since President Truman's Proclamation of 1945, Footnote 1 the legal regime of the continental shelf has occupied an important place in customary international law. The concept of the continental shelf is a datum of nature presented as a medium for juridical technique; it tends to justify State jurisdiction over the exploration and exploitation of the natural resources of the bed and the subsoil of certain areas of the high seas. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1967. Even while remaining a party to the 1958 Continental Shelf Convention, the United States considers itself bound by customary international law reflected in Article 76 of the LOS Indian position on continental shelf has been made clear under Section 6 of the Maritime Zones Act of 1976.Part 1 of the section lays down that, “the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 meters, or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural resources of the said areas”. 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