International Law and Negotiated and Adjudicated Maritime Boundaries: A Complex Relationship

Abstract

This article looks at the role negotiations and adjudication have been playing in settling maritime boundaries between neighbouring States and the role international law plays in both processes. As regards the former issue, the complementarity of the two modes of dispute settlement is highlighted. A review of the mode of submission of delimitation disputes to the judiciary points out that unilateral submissions have increased significantly over time. The article considers the implications of that trend. The availability of compulsory dispute settlement may provide States with an effective mechanism to break the deadlock in negotiations with neighbouring States. International law plays a significant role in negotiations and adjudication. The article demonstrates that the application of the law by the judiciary continues to be characterised by inconsistencies and departures from the avowed general approach to delimitation, notwithstanding assertions to the contrary. Assessing the impact of international law on negotiations is much more difficult to gauge. However, as the article sets out, States in negotiating maritime boundaries are operating in the context of a detailed set of legal rules. This implies that political bargaining takes place in a legal framework that puts limits on what States can credibly claim.