[Ch. 11.  THE LAW OF THE SEA]

 C.  The Continental Shelf, Fisheries Zones, and the Exclusive Economic Zone

System of Maritime Zones (see chart over)

The Truman Proclamation, p. 662 (1945)

• What kind of document is this?
• Does it purport to state or restate customary international law?
• If not, on what authority does it rest?
• Does it state or imply a definition of the boundary between continental shelf and deep seabed? How should it be defined?
• 1945 press release: "no more than 100 fathoms" under ocean surface
• Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, 1958:
• at least 200 metres (roughly 100 fathoms!), and further:
• technological definition: to where depth of water "admits of the exploitation of the natural resources"
• UNCLOS art. 76:
• topographical definition
• distance from baseline: no less than 200 miles, no more than 350

Baselines

• Significance of Baseline
• defines outer limit of land territory, area of fullest sovereignty
• defines inner limit of territorial sea, over which coastal state sovereignty is limited by rights of passage
• Straight Baselines
• Norwegian Fisheries Case (ICJ 1951)
• IL doesn't forbid the use of straight baselines (i.e., those that don't precisely follow the low-water line)
• if IL limits the length of straight baseline segments, Norway isn't bound by the rule (consistent rejection)
• Britain can't invoke it against Norway in any event (estoppel)
• codification of the Fisheries Case w/ modification: UNCLOS art. 7
• under what conditions may straight baselines be used?
• is there a limit to the length of any segment?

FISHERIES JURISDICTION CASE, p. 667 (ICJ 1974)

• does IL support UK objection to Iceland's claim?
• is UK entitled to free access to fisheries outside of Iceland's 12-mile Zone?
• how was the dispute resolved?
• how was the international law issue settled?

UNCLOS Part V: Exclusive Economic Zone

• is this rule a codification of customary law?
• does it provide for any trade-offs against the grant of exclusive jurisdiction?