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Case Concerning Maritime Delimitation in the Area Between Greenland and Jan Mayen (Denmark v. Norway)

International Court of Justice.  14 June 1993 .

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

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Abstract

Sea — Maritime boundaries — Continental shelf — Fishery zone — Principles regarding delimitation — Whether same principles applicable to shelf and zone — States concerned parties to Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, 1958 — 1958 Convention, Article 6 — Applicability to area falling outside definition of continental shelf in 1958 Convention, Article 1 — Relationship to customary international law — Opposite coasts — Median line as starting point — Special circumstances — Whether the same as relevant circumstances under customary law — Equity — Marked disparity in length of opposing coasts — Principle of proportionality — Other potentially relevant factors — Dependence on fisheries — Size of population — Security — Whether Court empowered to draw single line of delimitation for both continental shelf and fishery zones

Sea — Continental shelf — Juridical nature of continental shelf — Evolution of continental shelf regime — Definition of continental shelf — Declining importance of principle of natural prolongation — Proportionality between length of coast and area of continental shelf — Relationship between continental shelf, exclusive economic zone and fishery zone

Sea — Fisheries — Fishery zone — Nature — Whether legal concept — Relationship with exclusive economic zone — Delimitation between opposite States with overlapping claims to fishery zones — Principles of customary international law applicable to delimitation — Relationship with treaty principles regarding delimitation between overlapping continental shelf claims — Equidistance principle — Relevant circumstances — Equity

Sea — Islands — Entitlement to continental shelf and fishery zone — Greenland — Jan Mayen — Whether size, location or population of island relevant — Distinction between island and rock not entitled to maritime area

International Court of Justice — Jurisdiction — Optional clause — Maritime boundary dispute brought before Court under Article 36(2) of the Statute of the Court — Powers of the Court — Dispute relating to boundary between continental shelf areas and fishery zones — Whether Court empowered to draw single maritime boundary in absence of special agreement between the Parties

International Court of Justice — Judicial process — Law to be applied — Equitable principles — Application of equity distinguished from decision ex aequo et bono — Judicial discretion — Delimitation of maritime boundary

Sources of international law — Treaties — Customary international law — Relationship between treaty and custom — Principles of maritime boundary delimitation — Relationship between provisions of Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, 1958, Article 6 and customary law — Effect of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, on customary international law — Equity as source of international law

Treaties — Application — Interpretation — Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, 1958, Article 6

Type
Case Report
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 1994

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