marine delimitation (gulf of maine) - presentation

5/13/2018 Marine Delimitation (Gulf of Maine) - Presentation - slidepdf.com

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/marine-delimitation-gulf-of-maine-presentation 1/31

Maritime Delimitation:

Gulf of Maine Case



History

Truman Proclamation 1945

Petroleum Exploration in the Georges Bank Area US/Canadian permits for Geophysical Exploration

(1964)

US became a party to the 1958 Convention on the

Continental Shelf (1964)

Canada ratified the 1958 Convention (1970)



History

cont

1966 1969 Diplomatic Notes, Missives, and Maps

were exchanged

1969, US suggested moratorium on Georges Bank

Exploration; Canada rejected

Formal negotiations (1970)



History

cont

Canada - the presence of an accidental feature such

as a depression or channel in a submerged area

should not be regarded as constituting an

interruption in the natural prolongation

US special circumstances; boundary should

follow Northeast Channel



History

cont

1974, US Lobster Line

1975, US started granting leases on Georges Bank

206 tracts for EIA, 28 of these behind the

Canadian line

1976, each published their delimitation lines

CA revised its line, taking account of Nantucket &

Cape Cod

1977, 200-mile fishery zone est. by each

US Mar 1977 Fishery Conservation & Mgmt Act

CA Jan 1977 Territorial Sea and Fishing Zones Act



History

cont

1978, CA requested certain tracts be withdrawn from

sale by US

withdrawn with reservation

1979, issue submitted to arbitration



Arguments of the Parties

Article 6 (1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf)

1. Where the same continental shelf is adjacent to the

territories of two or more States whose coasts are opposite

each other, the boundary of the continental shelf

appertaining to such States shall be determined by

agreement between them. In the absence of agreement, and

unless another boundary line is justified by special

circumstances, the boundary is the median line, every pointof which is equidistant from the nearest points of the

baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of

each State is measured.



Arguments, cont

2. Where the same continental shelf is adjacent to the

territories of two adjacent States, the boundary of the

continental shelf shall be determined by agreement

between them. In the absence of agreement, and unless

another boundary line is justified by special

circumstances, the boundary shall be determined by

application of the principle of equidistance from the

nearest points of the baselines from which the breadth of

the territorial sea of each State is measured.



Arguments, cont

CANADA

1. Principle of equidistance

2. Effect of conduct by the US

Acquiescence / Estoppel

Existence of a modus vivendi / de facto boundary

Mere indicia



Arguments, cont

UNITED STATES

Equitable delimitation based on the Special

Circumstances Principle

Geographical Circumstances

General Concavity

Primary and Secondary Coasts

Environmental Circumstances 3 separate ecological regimes

Northeast Channel as natural boundary



Arguments, cont

UNITED STATES

Socio-economic Circumstances

Fishing by US nationals in the Georges Bank Area

Historical

Predominant

Exercise of responsibility (navigation, search and rescue,defense, scientific research, fisheries conservation &

mgmt)



The Court

Article 38 of the Statute

conventions

international custom

judicial decisions

the principle in re delimitation cases is

mutual agreement

equitable criteria

1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf

North Sea Continental Cases

Tunisia / Libya Case

UNCLOS III



The Court

Principles put forward by the Parties

CA adjacency (natural prolongation), equidistance

US geographic natural prolongation; primary andsecondary coasts

Each Party's reasoning is in fact based on a false

premise. The error lies precisely in searching generalinternational law for, as it were, a set of rules which are

not there.



The Court

Customary International Law comprises

- Limited set of norms

- Set of customary rules

Fundamental Norm: delimitation, whether effected bydirect agreement or by the decision of a third Party, must

be based on the application of equitable criteria and the

use of practical methods capable of ensuring an

equitable result.



The Court

Special International Law

NOT APPLICABLE

1958 Convention Continental Shelf

1958 Convention Territorial Sea

Single Delimitation



The Court

Conduct by US

unclear nature to operate as acquiescence /

estoppel

1962 1975 too short



The Court

Survey of Equitable Criteria

Land dominates the sea

Equal division of areas of overlap maritime zones

Non-encroachment

the criteria in question are not themselves rules of law

and therefore mandatory in the different situations, but

"equitable", or even "reasonable, criteria, and that whatinternational law requires is that recourse be had in each

case to the criterion, or the balance of different criteria,

appearing to be most appropriate to the concrete

situation.



The Court

Geological?

Unitary Continental Shelf

Northeast Channel not significant enough



The Court

Environmental?

3 Separate Ecological Regimes

oceans fluctuating environment

not applicable to seabed



The Court

Socio-Economic?

Fishing

1979 Agreement

decision not ex aequo et bono, but based onprinciples and rules of international law



The Court

Socio-Economic?

It is, therefore, in the Chambers view, evident that the

respective scale of activities connected with fishingor

navigation, defence or, for that matter, petroleumexploration and exploitationcannot be taken into

account as a relevant circumstance or, if the term is

preferred, as an equitable criterion to be

applied in determining the delimitation line.



The Court

Geography?

195. To return to the immediate concerns of the

Chamber, it is, accordingly, towards an application to the

present case of criteria more especially derived fromgeography that it feels bound to turn.



The Court

197. At this point, accordingly, the Chamber finds that it

must finally confirm its choice, which is to take as its

starting-point the above-mentioned

criterion of the division - in principle, equal division - of

the areas of convergence and overlapping of themaritime projections of the coastlines of the States

concerned in the delimitation, a criterion which need

only be stated to be seen as intrinsically equitable.



The Court

Delimitation:

First Segment.

Second Segment

Third Segment



THE END

marine delimitation (gulf of maine) - presentation

Documents