Delineation of Continental Shelf

After being separated from Indonesia's sovereign territory, Timor Leste has the most obvious energy issues because its oil wealth is located on the disputed maritime border with Australia. This energy wealth is Timor Leste's advantage and bargaining chip, but it is also its weakness because this country is too dependent on natural oil resources for its economic growth. This research will study two main ideas: identifying Timor Leste energy security problems in the maritime border region with Australia and how it impacted to the environmental damage. To analyze this, this research will apply the concept of energy security to identify the biggest problem of Timor Leste, namely energy dependence, and environmental damage due to oil spills in the maritime border of the two countries. This study formulates several impacts related to aspects of political-economic impact, environmental impact. there are economic issues with Timor Leste's oil reserves, which are predicted to run out soon because Timor Leste's oil revenues have declined dramatically.

Although most provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are regarded customary international law and the United States views most of its provisions as such, the outsider status of the United States causes problems in some areas, especially concerning the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. This article asks whether it is possible for the United States to establish the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in line with international law without becoming a state party to the convention, and if that is possible, how could the United States proceed? KEYWORDS Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf; Continental Shelf; customary law; United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea CONTACT Bjarni M ar Magn usson

The Sunda Shelf is one of the most extensive continental shelves of the world. In June-July 1971 a geophysical survey was conducted over the southern part of the shelf (Java Sea). Water depth, sediment thickness, and the gravity and magnetic fields were measured continuously. Expendable radiosonobuoys permitted seismic refraction measurements. These geophysical data, supplemented by data from earlier •tudies of the northern Sunda Shelf and geologic data from land areas, provide a comprehensive picture of the structural framework of the entire Shelf. The seismic reflection profiles show that the Sunda Shelf consists of three major units: the northern Sunda Shelf basinol area, the Singapore platform, and the Java Sea baslnal area. In the northern unit are two large sedimentary basins (the Brunei and Gulf of Thailand basins) separated by the Natuna Ridge. In the Java Sea ore several other basins separated by uplifts. The basins in the western Java Sea are approximately circular and seem to result from tensional forces, whereas those in the eastern Java Sea are narrow and long and appear to be the result of compressionol forces. Radiosonobuoys revealed small basement features and resolved many strata having different seismic velocities. Faults are abundant throughout the Sunda Shelf and clearly control the distribution and shapes of the basins. The faults strike north-south in the western Java Sea and northeast-southwest in the eastern Java Sea. A major discontinuity trending north-south (termed here the Natuna rift In the northern Sunda Shelf and the Billiton depression in the western Java Sea) cuts the structures of the entire Sunda Shelf and continues southward across central Java to the deep-ocean floor. Analysis of magnetic anomalies shows that the region can be divided into several distinct magnetic provinces that do not everywhere follow the major structural units mapped by the seismic reflection data. These magnetic provinces coincide with corresponding provinces of lithic units. The gravity field over the central and southern Sunda Shelf overages about +30 mgol. local gravity anomalies with relative amplitude of 10-25 mgal are superimposed on the regional background level. Although the local gravity anomalies were helpful in resolving the upper crustal structures, the cause for the high regionol gravity is unknown. All of the geophysical studies serve to outline the distribution pattern of sediment-filled basins and intervening ridges and platforms beyond the level of understanding reached by early workers through inferences based upon the geology of the land areas, and beyond the scant publications of oil companies within the restricted areas of their concessions. These regional results may be helpful both for understanding the general structure of the Sunda Shelf and for denoting the areas with the greatest future oil potential. The main structural elements are interpreted at the result of past interaction between lithospheric plotes.

Há tempos a poluição dos mares por óleo vem sendo preocupação regulatória na esfera mundial. O fundamento está na larga escala atingida pelo transporte marítimo, cujo combustível deriva do petróleo, bem como do próprio transporte de carga petrolífera. Grandes derramamentos são conhecidos, enquanto pequenos nem sempre chegam ao conhecimento das autoridades, mas que somados podem gerar danos tão graves ou maiores ao meio ambiente e à sociedade vitimada, quando comparados aos de grande escala. O presente estudo visa a evidenciar as normas internacionais de responsabilidade civil aplicáveis ao caso da poluição na costa brasileira por óleo, ocorrida em agosto de 2019. Na pesquisa será adotado o método de estudo de caso, com abordagem teórica e dedutiva, utilizando o método de procedimento de pesquisa documental. Para tanto, será utilizada a pesquisa bibliográfica e análise regulatória. A pesquisa contribui para demonstrar a urgência de o Brasil ratificar a Convenção Internacional sobre R...

Maritime borders are an important issue for every country to protect including each territorial waters wealth. The issue of Timor Leste and Australia has become a big issue in the history of the International Court of Justice regarding the agreement of maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea. In this study, the author uses normative juridical research to discuss the Timor Sea agreement as the result between Timor Leste and Australia’s boundary about maritime borders and how Timor Leste gets 90% and Australia gets 10% of the total exploitation of oil and gas. This study also uses library research to complete the data. Both countries Timor Leste and Australia areas are beyond the authority of the authors. This analysis from the authors provides qualitative for future analysis or research.

A sustainable ocean economy is achieved by improving economic, environmental and social performance. Unfortunately, Tanzania's Marine and costal ecosystem are threatened by overfishing, mangroves and coral reefs and marine debris degradation. Thus, this research analyses the blue ocean business model in coastal areas of Dar es Salaam Tanzania. Key findings from the case studies in this report include the importance of establishing a trusted and diversified knowledge base, complimented with resources which help inspire and support innovation; as well as the importance of developing an engaged process of stakeholder consultation and co-creation of a vision for a Blue Economy.

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All rights reserved. No part of this journal may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher.

RESUMO: Este artigo tem por objetivo investigar os impactos para a defesa da Amazônia Azul, em tempos de crise, decorrentes de uma possível mobilização de ativos humanos em plataformas de petróleo, seja para composição da elasticidade das Forças Armadas, seja para a manutenção do transporte mercantil usado pelo Poder Econômico do Estado. Nesse sentido, considerando que uma das Ações Estratégicas de Defesa para o fortalecimento do Poder Nacional é aprimorar o Sistema Nacional de Mobilização-AED-3 prevista na Estratégia Nacional de Defesa-é imperioso examinar as vulnerabilidades que podem surgir no que tange à mobilização de recursos humanos em plataformas petrolíferas e embarcações de apoio, notadamente no âmbito da Amazônia Azul. Com efeito, o Brasil, país continental com dimensões territoriais que ultrapassam 12 milhões de quilômetros quadrados, possui uma área oceânica denominada Amazônia Azul com 5,7 milhões de km² e um litoral com aproximadamente 7.500 km de extensão, o que evidentemente mostra a importância estratégica de uma logística otimizada capaz de mobilizar rapidamente os meios humanos e materiais disponíveis para acionar medidas de resguardo patrimonial, das linhas de comércio marítimo, espaço aéreo e plataformas de petróleo frente ameaças à soberania nacional. Por meio de uma análise qualitativa, pretende-se apurar quais serão os óbices para o preparo da mobilização no contexto da vulnerabilidade das infraestruturas críticas-plataformas de petróleo e embarcações de apoio-de modo a propor medidas de aperfeiçoamento do arcabouço legal que circunscreve o Sistema Nacional de Mobilização.

Do states take court decisions into account when formulating policies? If so, how do they process new judicial input and make policies in response to them? While self-interest and incentives are the usual elements involved in a rational choice explanation of policymaking, behavioralist scholarship casts doubt on whether decisionmakers are able to identify and pursue their interests in a rational manner. We draw on rational and behavioral approaches to formulate different expectations about the process of policymaking and updating in the context of maritime delimitation. We focus on how states formulate policies about the appropriate method of maritime delimitation given relevant decisions of the International Court of Justice. Using a dataset of continental shelf delimitation policies, we find evidence that at least some states change policies in line with court decisions. However, we are unable to distinguish between mechanisms consistent with rational choice and those suggested by...

Conclusion 376 CHAPTER VIII: THE DISPUTES 2. Dispute Between Japan and the United States 3. The United States Regulations Regard¬ ing Lobster 441 Conclusion 450 PART FOUR CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LEGAL REGIME FOR EXPLOITATION OF THE NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE CONTINENTAL SHELF 452 CHAPTER IX: DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAW OF THE SEA BETWEEN 1958 AND 1973 454 A. General Move Towards 12 Miles Territorial Sea B. The Seabed Committee (ix) C. The 1969 Continental Shelf Cases D. Other Developments in the Law of the Sea... 482 i. Latin American States 1. Montevideo Declarations 1970 483 2. Lima Declaration: 3. Santo Domingo Declaration: 487 ii. Organization of African Unity (OAU)

In April, Australia and Timor-Leste reached agreement on their maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea. This resolved a longstanding source of contention between them. The potential benefits of this historic breakthrough are now in peril, because the critical issue of how the shared oil and gas of the Timor Sea are to be developed remains in dispute

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NV reserves the right to protect the publication against unauthorized use and to authorize dissemination by means of offprints, legitimate photocopies, microform editions, reprints, translations, and secondary information sources, such as abstracting and indexing services including databases. Requests for commercial re-use, use of parts of the publication, and/or translations must be addressed to Koninklijke Brill NV. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.

This article aims to analyze the main problems of the process of delimitation of maritime borders in Mozambique, and its implications in the exploitation of resources at sea. The study started from the assumption that the lack of delimitation of maritime borders constitutes a factor that makes the efficient exploitation of living and non-living resources of the sea impossible, and presents a great potential for the outbreak of disputes and conflicts between States, in the context of resource discovery natural in the undelimited sea. The research was developed under a qualitative methodological approach, of an exploratory nature based on bibliographical and documentary consultation. The study allowed us to conclude that although agreements have already been signed for the delimitation of the northern border with the Republic of Tanzania and the Comoros Islands,Thescar and the French Possessions. In the case of the border with the Republic of South Africa, important steps have already been taken, all that remains is to reach a consensus on the starting point of border measurements. Mo's main challengewambique is in the definition of the border with Madagascar and with the French Possessions, as there is still to be resolved a sovereignty dispute between them and Francewa - old metroOpole- who claims ownership of these territoriesOrivers and their sea milesígreat

Objetivo: Este artigo se propõe a demonstrar o regime jurídico aplicado à exploração mineral na Área Internacional dos Fundos Marinhos e identificar quais são as reponsabilidades e obrigações legais de Estados-parte da Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre o Direito do Mar sobre danos ambientais oriundos das atividades exercidas nos fundos marinhos.



Metodologia: A metodologia empregada será a dedutiva e fenomenológica, partindo de princípios reconhecidos como verdadeiros, buscando conclusões simples e formais, de forma unicamente lógica. Com abordagem qualitativa, a pesquisa bibliográfica tomará por base artigos científicos, jurisprudência, doutrina dos principais autores no tema e documentos oficiais provenientes de organizações internacionais, de forma a permitir uma melhor compreensão do assunto a ser estudado.



Resultados:  A extração de recursos minerais na Área Internacional dos Fundos Marinhos poderá trazer muitos benefícios à sociedade, mas também causar severos danos ambientais. Para evitar a degradação do ambiente marinho, se faz necessário o atendimento das obrigações de proteção previstas na Parte XII da Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre o Direito do Mar e o cumprimento do Princípio 15 da Declaração Rio 92, o Princípio da Precaução.

Contribuições: Recentemente, o Brasil obteve junto à Autoridade Internacional dos Fundos Marinhos, entidade ligada à ONU, autorização para explorar uma área de 3.000 km² situada além de sua Plataforma Continental denominada Elevação do Rio Grande. Uma compreensão do regime normativo internacional de exploração dos fundos marinhos pode garantir ao país maior segurança jurídica no exercício dessa atividade tão relevante

Koninklijke Brill NV reserves the right to protect the publication against unauthorized use and to authorize dissemination by means of offprints, legitimate photocopies, microform editions, reprints, translations, and secondary information sources, such as abstracting and indexing services including databases. Requests for commercial re-use, use of parts of the publication, and/or translations must be addressed to Koninklijke Brill NV. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.

The article analyses the trends in continental shelf boundary agreements that extend beyond 200 nautical miles. The focus is on three issues: first, the delimitation method; second, whether States have acted on the basis that they have to delineate the limits between the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles and the international seabed area before they engage in a boundary delimitation with neighbouring states; and third, how the end point of the boundary line has been defined. The goal of the analysis is to find out whether any rule of customary law has emerged which seems not to be the case.

Since the first oil discovery in the Malay Basin in 1969, more than 700 exploratory wells have been drilled. To date, there are more than 181 oil and gas discoveries, about half of which are currently in production and about a dozen are already in their secondary or tertiary recovery stages. In 2014 it was estimated that a total of over 14.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent (bboe) of recoverable hydrocarbon resource have been discovered in the basin, contributing to approximately 40% of the total hydrocarbon resources of Malaysia. By the end of the first decade of exploration in 1979, all the major basin-centre anticlinal structures had been tested. This play type contributed 60% of the total discovered resource in the basin. By 1981 this most prolific play type had been practically exhausted, as all the giant fields (those with recoverable resource > 0.5 bboe) had been found. As "creaming" of the basin-centre anticlinal play continued into the early 1980s, exploration efforts gradually shifted to the newly discovered western margin play types, particularly in the Western Hinge Fault Zone, Tenggol Arch and the adjacent Penyu Basin. There was a "lull" period from 1985 to about 1990, due to the global oil crisis, after which exploration was rejuvenated through significant discoveries in several play types on the northeastern ramp margin. This followed a successful drilling campaign that lasted until around 1997 and contributed an additional ~1 bboe of recoverable resources over a seven-year period. Since then, most of the incremental resource addition came from the highly gas-charged play in northern region that comes under the Malaysia-Thai Joint Development Area (JDA) and on the northeastern ramp margin, which includes the Commercial Arrangement Area (CAA) between Malaysia and Vietnam. Individually, however, the hydrocarbon volumes in these later discoveries were relatively small compared to the earlier discovered play types. Subsequently, new play types were pursued, including stratigraphic channels, deeper reservoirs beneath existing fields, high pressure/high temperature (HPHT) reservoirs, overpressured and tight reservoirs, and fractured basement reservoirs. All had some measure of success but none were able to volumetrically match the discoveries made decades earlier. As of end of 2018, over 2100 exploration and development wells had been drilled in the entire basin. Based on the creaming curve, since around 1990 and into the fifth decade of exploration, the incremental resource addition has been increasing steadily at an average rate of ca. 120 MMboe per year. The data indicate that the expected average discovery size would be less than 25 MMboe, and that at least 5 wells need to be drilled per year to sustain the same rate of resource addition. If no new plays are explored and no significant discoveries made, resource addition is expected to plateau beyond 2020. The basin needs a new stimulus, and more importantly, new exploration play concepts to sustain exploration business.

One of the key chapter of the book "the challenges of the extension of the continental shelf" identifying the weaknesses of the regime of the continental shelf which will pose issues in the implementaiton of this regime in the context of the extension

Για τη μεγάλη πλειοψηφία των πολιτών οι συχνές αναφορές σε έννοιες όπως χωρικά ύδατα, εσωτερικά ύδατα, συνορεύουσα ζώνη, υφαλοκρηπίδα, Αποκλειστική Οικονομική Ζώνη (ΑΟΖ), κλείσιμο κόλπων, ευθείες γραμμές βάσης, επήρεια, πλήρης κυριαρχία, κυριαρχικά δικαιώματα κ.α. δε γίνονται κατανοητές και κατά συνέπεια δε γίνεται κατανοητό το εκάστοτε διακύβευμα. Ένα διακύβευμα που μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε ελληνοτουρκική στρατιωτική σύγκρουση.

The extension of the continental shelf holds the attention of the whole International Community.
With nearly 105 claims lodged to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in June 2012, the extension interests States that are parties to the LOS Convention as well as States that are not.
The rather sudden interest that States have shown since 2001 in the portion of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles offers a unique opportunity to study the impact of this extension in the New Law of the Sea from the perspective of the territorial obsession that drives States.
The creation and evolution of the continental shelf and the area of the extended continental shelf in the Law of the Sea are important steps in the perception and management of the ocean space.
Motivated by economic and political considerations, coastal States undertake a race to the extension of the continental shelf.
But this race, lured by promises of seabed richness that are though uncertain, is not guided solely by selfish national interests.
It cleverly mixes the articulation of the common interest and the special interest of States, correcting the continental shelf legal regime, which originally appears to be highly discriminatory, geographically and financially.
The establishment of the continental shelf and its extension by the New Law of the Sea also effect a profound change in the balance of its legal regime.
From a single uncertain continental shelf boundary in 1958, the continental shelf is now divided into two zones, extending below and beyond 200 nautical miles.
This distinction creates a duality of legal regime questioning the relationship between the procedure of extension and the sovereign rights of the coastal State, enshrined as ipso facto and ab initio.
The new definition of the continental shelf and the incorporation of the principle of natural prolongation of the land territory reveal the legal relationship between the State and its shelf.
This link is not one of resources, but of territory, revealing publicly the continental shelf as an accessory territory of the coastal State.
A new type of institution is at the heart of the extension procedure: the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
Its innovative role is essential to the proper conduct of the extension procedure, but its role is difficult.
It faces the strong and safeguarded power of the coastal State in the definition of its territorial limits, as well as the limitations of its own mandate erecting major barriers in its power to interpret.
The significant voluntary participation of States in this extension procedure further demonstrates the symbolism and the role of this definition of the outer limit of the continental shelf within the Law of the Sea.
This limit is not solely a definition of a unilateral limit, it appears to be a multilateral platform encouraging the dialogue between States and the laboratory preparing the drawing of an emerging border.
This boundary is unprecedented in nature, since for the first time the national state interest is confronting the interest of Humanity represented by the International Seabed Authority, in charge of the common heritage of mankind.

Por PEDRO PAULO REZENDE O aquecimento global transformou o Ártico em uma região de grande atrativo. Este processo foi detectado pela Marinha da Federação Russa na primeira década do século 21. A passagem norte, que só era navegável sem o uso de navios quebra-gelos durante os meses de verão, passou a ficar aberta durante todo o ano. Um alerta foi encaminhado ao Painel Intergovernamental sobre a Mudança Climática (IPCC, na sigla em inglês). Paralelamente, o governo decidiu ampliar os levantamentos sobre recursos minerais na plataforma continental conforme previsto pela Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre o Direito do Mar (CNUDM). A medida não fere a legislação internacional, uma vez que, ao contrário da Antártida, o Oceano Ártico pode ser explorado economicamente. O primeiro passo na área diplomática foi resolver uma disputa com a Noruega, que perdurava por 40 anos. Os dois países firmaram um acordo dividindo salomonicamente uma área de 175 mil km² do Mar de Barents, uma superfície equivalente à metade do território do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Criou-se, de fato, uma zona de cooperação econômica ao norte da Península de Kola. O tratado foi firmado, no dia 15 de setembro de 2010, na cidade russa de Murmansk pelo então presidente russo, Dmitry Medvedev, e por Jens Stoltenberg que ocupava o cargo de primeiro-ministro da Noruega-hoje, é o atual secretário-geral da Organização do Tratado do Atlântico Norte (OTAN). A disputa teve origem na década de 1970 na exploração dos recursos pesqueiros, mas levantamentos posteriores revelaram que o Ártico concentra 13% dos depósitos de petróleo remanescentes e 30% das reservas de gás mundiais, além de nódulos polimetálicos que incluem minerais raros e preciosos. Tecnicamente, outros quatro países possuem interesses legítimos sobre a região: Canadá, Dinamarca, Estados Unidos e Islândia. A maior fatia pertence à Rússia, que também domina as rotas entre os países atlânticos e mediterrâneos e a Ásia. Em função disto, tomou medidas importantes para proteger seus interesses, com a criação de brigadas especiais para o ambiente polar. Equipamentos foram construídos especialmente, como uma versão do Pantsir M2 em chassis sobre lagartas biarticulado. O carro de combate T-80, equipado com um motor de turbina a gás, mais adequado a temperaturas negativas extremas, ganhou um novo ciclo de vida na versão T-80U, com blindagem reativa e novos equipamentos eletrônicos. Na área naval, passou a construir patrulheiros de grande porte com capacidade de romper bancos de gelo. Os Estados Unidos, que não são signatários da Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre o direito do Mar, reforçaram a defesa do Alasca com o deslocamento de 150 aviões de caça F-35A. O Canadá, por sua vez, lançou uma nova classe de patrulheiros que terá cinco navios. Por falta de recursos suficientes econômicos e demográficos, os esforços da Dinamarca e da Islândia são menos expressivos. Os dois países dependeriam de um grande apoio da OTAN para defender seus interesses. Reflexos no Brasil Apesar do desmonte de empresas brasileiras promovido pela Operação Lava-Jato, o Brasil ainda detém tecnologia de levantamento e exploração de recursos petrolíferos, mas ainda não testadas em ambiente polar. Em 2014, o então vice-premiê Dmitry Rogozin, encarregado do setor de defesa e aeroespacial na Rússia, esteve no Brasil. Começou seu percurso pelo Rio de Janeiro,

The controversy between Nicaragua and Colombia before the
ICJ now concerns maritime delimitation beyond 200 nm. One of the main
legal issues in this case is whether international law allows for
delimitation to take place where alternative bases of continental shelf
entitlement, namely, natural prolongation and distance, are opposed. As
alleged by Nicaragua, its natural prolongation extends beyond 200 nm and
overlaps with Colombia’s distance-based continental shelf entitlement.
Nicaragua endorses the principle of equal division and accordingly,
advocates for the viability of maritime delimitation. In Colombia’s view,
the distance criterion has priority and trumps natural prolongation. In
this work, the author analyses the legal discourse already voiced on the
occasion of the dispute in the East China Sea, in order to identify
instances of parallelism and symbiotic contribution with the question of
the delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nm in the Western
Caribbean Sea

Day by day the population of the world is increasing as well as disputes among people are also increasing simultaneously. For resolving such disputes world community is also trying to find out various ways. Historically, International Law has been regarded by the international community as a means to ensure the establishment and preservation of world peace and security. The maintenance of international peace and security has always been the major purpose of the International Law. It was the basic objective behind the creation of the League of Nations in 1919 and the United Nations in 1945.

With the aim of barring Nicaragua’s fresh request for the delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, Colombia raised the issue of the res judicata effect of the previous decision of 2012, rendered in the Territorial and Maritime Dispute, whereby the ICJ had apparently settled the case and dismissed on the merits the same request. In the Judgment on preliminary objections of 2016, relating to the “new” case Question of the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 nautical miles from the Nicaraguan Coast, the ICJ held that no binding force attached to the operative part of the 2012 ruling. The outcome of the incidental proceedings
was not predictable as one might have expected, given that the decision was
taken with the casting vote of the President and prompted a strong dissent among some judges. This occurrence gives clear evidence of the interplay between several intertwined issues of international law, which the majority was called upon to deal with and balance in the present case, such as the interpretation of Article 76, paragraph 8 of the UNCLOS, the principles of res judicata and jurisdiction ratione materiae
and the duty to give reasons. The article aims to demonstrate that the Court dismissed Colombia’s third preliminary objection for underlying reasons of judicial policy, namely to secure its previous judgment of 2012 from any potential claim relating to inadequate reasoning, if construed as a final rejection on the merits.

shelf of a coastal State comprises " the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance ". Article 76 provides the entitlement for a coastal state to extend its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (Fig. 1) by making a submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) explaining the technical justifications along with supporting geological, geophysical and bathymetric data. The CLCS is a technical body that comprises 21 members who are experts in geology, geophysics and hydrography, and are elected by States Parties to the UNCLOS, with the mandate to consider the submitted materials and to make recommendations on the limits of the continental shelf in accordance with the provisions of Article 76. Members are elected for a five-year term and, since 1997, four commissions have been elected; the last election having taken place in June 2012. Since receiving the first submission in 2001, the CLCS has received a total of 71 submissions from coastal states, including Malaysia (jointly with Viet Nam) in 2009. As of February 2014, 20 recommendations have been adopted. Although playing an important role in the implementation of Article 76 of UNCLOS, the CLCS is generally unknown to the geological community and to the general public. To bridge this gap, particularly in the Malaysian geological fraternity, this paper gives an overview of the work of the CLCS and introduces some of the key geological concepts regarding the continental shelf and its outer limit as contained in Article 76 (e.g., Fig. 2). The views expressed in this presentation, however, are solely those of the author in his personal capacity and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

In the inaugural (July 1966) issue of the Newsletter of the Geological Society of Malaysia, the Society's founding president, Neville S. Haile, wrote an interesting note on the enactment by Malaysia's parliament of the Continental Shelf Act 1966. At that time, offshore oil exploration in Malaysia was just beginning and the geology of the continental shelf was virtually unknown. Fifty years have passed since, and we now have a much better understanding of the geology of the continental shelf, thanks to academic research and petroleum exploration. In parallel with the rapid advances in geoscientific understanding of continental margins and ocean basins and in the theory of plate tectonics, legal instruments have been put in place, internationally and nationally, to enable coastal States 3 to exercise jurisdiction over their maritime spaces, in particular the continental shelf, which may include the " extended " continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles 4 (M) from the coastlines, for the purpose of exploration and exploitation of natural resources. This note is a brief progress update of the continental shelf in the Malaysian context after five decades of the enactment of the Continental Shelf Act 1966.. The bill lays claim to the sea-bed and subsoil off Western Malaysia (Malaya) beyond the 3-mile territorial limit and as far as the 200-meter isobaths. Supplementary legislation, the Petroleum Mining Enactment, regulates prospecting and exploration for oil. These acts empower the Federal Minister of Lands and Mines to issue licenses over the continental shelf for exploration, prospecting, and mining of natural resources. Resources within the 3-mile limit will be under the control of State Governments. It is known that a number of companies have applied for prospecting licenses for tin and oil on the continental shelf off the coasts of Malaya. Interest by oil companies has so far been confined to the east coast offshore area, whereas interest in tin is centered on the shelf off the west coast. The shelf off eastern Malaya is over 600 kilometers wide; it forms part of the Sunda shelf which joins Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java, and is one of the most extensive shelf seas of the world. It has an average depth of only about 70 meters. The delineation of the boundaries between the parts of the shelf owned by Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia may present some problems, and does not seem to have been attempted yet, but the parts of the shelf over which Malaysia claims sovereignty probably exceed the land area of Malaysia. The mineral potential of the continental shelf off Sabah and Sarawak (Eastern Malaysia) has long been recognized, and legislation laying claim to the shelf was enacted there as long ago as 1954. The Shell Group of Companies has been vigorously prospecting and drilling over the large areas of the Shelf off Sarawak, Brunei, and western Sabah, but so far has met with only minor successes. Many promising structures, however, remain to be drilled. Now that Malaysia has assumed sovereignty over such a huge area, it may be hoped that some attention will be given to the responsibilities of conduction scientific surveys, including marine geological surveys, over the shelf, and the adjoining marine South China Sea. So far, apart from oil company work, the results of which are mostly confidential, only one expedition, by the Geological Survey (Borneo Region) in 1963, in cooperation with the Shell Group and the British Navy, has been made. In spite of being done on a shoe-string budget and without sophisticated equipment, this produced significant results, indicating the wide scope for future work on the shelf off Malaysia's coasts.

A Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre o Direito do Mar (Montego
Bay, 1982) definiu e aperfeiçoou zonas marinhas de influência dos Estados e estabeleceu a Área, constituída pelo leito do mar, fundos marinhos e seu subsolo para além dos limites da jurisdição nacional. Na regulação da Área, os recursos minerais nela encontrados foram considerados como patrimônio da humanidade. Não há, todavia, previsão quanto ao destino e titularidade dos recursos da biodiversidade. A Convenção sobre Diversidade Biológica, por sua vez, submete a biodiversidade, e consequentemente seus recursos genéticos, ao princípio da soberania, consagrando direitos dos
Estados sobre os recursos naturais que estejam sob sua jurisdição. Há, pois, uma lacuna na regulação dos recursos genéticos marinhos se estes estiverem situados na Área. Propõe-se aqui a aproximação do Direito com a Ética ambiental, resgatando a solidariedade  intrageracional e intergeracional e considerando os recursos genéticos da Área como patrimônio comum.

This assessment paper give emphasis to the contributions of the blue economy to national development. It stresses the point that the blue economy has great impact on a nation's development. This actually explains why recent governments of various countries has given much attention and focus on their marine boundaries expecting to use it among others, as a mechanism of safe guarding their territorial waters with consequential hope of discovering natural minerals like oil which will help in enhancing the national resources used in developing the lives of their citizenry in terms of standard of living and the general development of the nation. This is because, the blue economy, in the life of a nation, provides great advantage in terms of the economic development of that country and a great disadvantage to the land lock nations at the back-dropped of the fact that the blue economy has long been an economic force to reckon with. It is also used by nations as the force and wall of their national defense and it has been observed that it plays major role in the international trade of the country. Looking at the blue economy in this perspective demands for proper attention from central government, traditional authorities, and the public and local governments to make sure that, this God-given treasure do not become a national curse but would be put to efficient use to produce the anticipated results, which will encourage national development. As valuable as it is, the blue economy is being muddled up in Ghana as the resource suffers from pollution as a result of scientific fishing, pollution by the public and by illegal miners and these calls for the need for better ocean governance. This study intends to achieve the following objectives; first is to determine the role and benefit of the blue economy in national development, to identify some challenges faced in the management of the blue economy of Ghana and to determine and make effective recommendations that would aid to reduce or mitigate the challenges faced by the blue economy. To achieve the objectives slated for this paper, review of secondary data from documented reports and the internet, publications, journals and articles were used. The primary data was an in-depth guided interview with key informants (fishing folk, oil and gas officers, port management and shipping officers etc.) and observation of events relating to the sea. To make the nation derive maximum dividends from the blue economy, valuable recommendations were offered.

This Article offers a tale about a dispute over the continental shelf resources of the oil-rich Timor Sea that currently involves a Goliath, Australia, and a David, Timor-Leste.  The story includes colonization by a European state, Portugal, an invasion and annexation by a neighbor country, Indonesia, the negotiation of several contentious international treaties, and, more recently, is akin to a John le Carré novel, as it includes espionage, thefts, and imprisonment of whistleblowers.  This story is not about the kid-glove diplomacy that usually characterizes relations between states.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently set the arena for a timely discussion of the question of the admissibility of a claim of continental shelf rights beyond 200 nm, absent a recommendation by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). The litigation concerned the Question of the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 nautical miles from the Nicaraguan Coast (NICOL II). In its 17 March 2016 Judgment on Preliminary Objections, the ICJ dismissed Colombia’s preliminary objections against the jurisdiction of the Court and the inadmissibility of Nicaragua’s first claim. While the ICJ upheld Colombia’s contentions against the admissibility of Nicaragua’s second submission – a rather unusual request for the establishment of a provisional regime of conduct in the area of overlapping entitlements pending delimitation – the case will now move to the merits with respect to Nicaragua’s request for the Court to adjudge and declare:

“The precise course of the maritime boundary between Nicaragua and Colombia in the areas of the continental shelf which appertain to each of them beyond the boundaries determined by the Court in its Judgment of 19 November 2012.

A Zona Econômica Exclusiva, última das divisões oceânicas antes da chegada ao alto mar e às águas internacionais, vai do fim do mar territorial até o limite de 200 milhas marítimas contadas a partir da linha de base. Prevista na Parte V, artigo 55, da Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre o Direito do Mar, ela é inteiramente criação deste documento, sendo regulamentada e estando sob o escopo dos termos que ele define. Este trabalho busca analisar as características e o surgimento da Zona Econômica Exclusiva, bem como as atribuições de competência jurídica que nela residem sob o enfoque cível, penal e trabalhista, esclarecendo-se assim o alcance da legislação brasileira e respaldando a abrangência da defesa do interesse nacional quanto à extração marítima de petróleo e gás na camada do Pré-sal, cujos campos se encontram inteiramente em dita zona.

Οι διμερείς σχέσεις της χώρας μας με την Τουρκία αποτελούν διαχρονικά ένα από τα σημαντικότερα πεδία εξωτερικής πολιτικής της Ελλάδας, από τη συγκρότηση ακόμη του σύγχρονου ελληνικού κράτους (δεκαετία 1820) έως και σήμερα. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό, θα περίμενε κανείς να χρησιμεύουν ως πολύτιμη πηγή εμπειριών και διδαγμάτων για τη μετέπειτα πορεία της χώρας, αλλά όπως συχνά φαίνεται η ιστορική εμπειρία δεν έχει αξιοποιηθεί επαρκώς από την πολιτική ηγεσία, η οποία προτιμά να αφήνει τα προβλήματα να εκκρεμούν. Με δεδομένο ότι η πολιτική αυτή δεν έχει καταφέρει έως σήμερα να διασφαλίσει την ασφάλεια της χώρας, θα ήταν δόκιμο να επανεξετάσουμε την ελληνική στάση στις διμερείς διαφορές με την Τουρκία, αναζητώντας το πως προέκυψαν και το πως θα μπορούσαν να επιλυθούν.

(Local Custom-Whether a local custom could be established between only two States?) Portugal claims a right of passage between Daman and the enclaves, and between the enclaves, across intervening Indian territory, to the extent necessary for the exercise of its sovereignty over the enclaves, subject to India's right of regulation and control of the passage claimed, and without any immunity in Portugal's favour. It claims further that India is under obligation so to exercise its power of regulation and control as not to prevent the passage necessary for the exercise of Portugal's sovereignty over the enclaves. India argues that the vague and contradictory character of the right claimed by Portugal is proved by Portugal's admission that on the one hand the exercise of the right is subject to India's regulation and control as the territorial sovereign, and that on the other hand the right is not accompanied by any immunity, even in the case of the passage of armed forces. There is no doubt that the day-today exercise of the right of passage as formulated by Portugal, with correlative obligation upon India, may give rise to delicate questions of application, but that is not, in the view of the Court, sufficient ground for holding that the right is not susceptible of judicial determination with reference to Article 38 (1) of the Statute. In support of its claim, Portugal relies on the Treaty of Poona of 1779 and on sanads (decrees), issued by the Maratha ruler in 1783 and 1785, as having conferred sovereignty on Portugal over the enclaves with the right of passage to them. India objects on various grounds that what is alleged to be the Treaty of 1779 was not validly entered into and never became in law a treaty binding upon the Marathas. It is sufficient to state that the validity of a treaty concluded as long ago as the last quarter of the eighteenth century, in the conditions then prevailing in the Indian Peninsula, should not be judged upon the basis of practices and procedures which have since developed only gradually. The Marathas themselves regarded the Treaty of 1779 as valid and binding upon them, and gave effect to its provisions. The Treaty is frequently referred to as such in subsequent forma1 Maratha documents, including the two sanads of 1783 and 1785, which purport to have been issued in pursuance of the Treaty. The Marathas did not at any time cast any doubt upon the validity or binding character of the Treaty. India contends further that the Treaty and the two sanads of 1783 and 1785 taken together did not operate to transfer sovereignty over the assigned villages to Portugal, but only conferred upon it, with respect to the villages, a revenue grant of the value of 12,000 rupees per annum called a jagir or saranjam.

For centuries, the law of sea was based on the concept of freedom of the seas, with nations' control of the oceans limited to narrow bands adjacent to their coasts. It was primarily based on customary law; international agreements were likely to involve a small number of states or cover a particular region. By the middle of the twentieth century, as the nations increased their capability to engage in long range fishing and commercial extraction, concerns arose about pollution and the exhaustibility of ocean resources. In addition, the concept of freedom of the seas was eroding, as many nations had asserted sovereignty over wider areas, claiming rights to the resources of the continental shelf and the water above. It became necessary to develop a treaty-based regime for ocean governance. A series of United Nations conferences on the law of the sea, convened in 1958, 1960 and 1973-1982, produced a number of treaty agreements and the Third Conference culminated in the adoption in 1982 of a comprehensive treaty instrument, the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea.

DOI: 10.1080/19480881.2015.1066555

In 2014, the South African government announced Operation Phakisa in order to stimulate the country's blue economy. Operation Phakisa's strong focus on maritime economic matters ignores two unresolved issues in respect of South Africa's maritime economy and maritime diplomacy, namely the country's extended continental shelf claim. If successful in its claim, South Africa's territory will increase significantly (thus a 10th province) and thus its security and economic opportunities and challenges. The latter includes the exploration and exploitation of extended shelf resources such as oil and gas, gas hydrates, seabed mining, and marine genetic resources. As very little legal precedent and state practice exists in respect of the actual delimitation of the extended continental shelf, South Africa's claims, which overlaps with that of its neighbours Mozambique and Namibia, could contributes to significant insecurity between these states. The paper concludes with some policy recommendations to address the overlapping claims, and promote an Indian Ocean–South Atlantic dialogue on oceans governance and maritime security cooperation.