Some legal aspects of the delimitation of continental shelves

Abstract

Since its birth in 1945 in the Truman Proclamation the Continental Shelf Doctrine has been a persistent legal basis for the extension of a State's maritime jurisdiction for exploitation purposes, resulting in the gradual appropriation of most submarine areas/have an economic potential, and accompanied/which by the blessing of the international community via multilateral conventions to date. To the developed coastal States the doctrine is a means for the further accumulation of wealth which in turn means the perpetuation of political Dower. To the developing coastal States, the doctrine is promising economic and social advancement and the ultimate hope of playing a greater role in the international community. The last category of States, the geographically disadvantaged, look at the doctrine with frustration and growing apprehension. The doctrine has been accordingly termed 'a grab' which makes it reminiscent of undesirable past colonial policies. The Continental Shelf Doctrine has had cancerous effects on the regime of the seabed due to the unprecedented technological advancement of the past three decades. Article l of the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf left the exploit ability loop hole which has undermined the convention's attempt at limiting or containing the increasingly alarming appronriation of submarine areas by States, and left the heritage of this hard core issue for UNCLOS 3 to attempt to settle. The 'exploitability' concept meant that a coastal State could anpropriate as much adjacent shelf areas as it could exploit thanks to its advancing technological know-how. Within a few years of the 1958 Geneva Convention it was already clear that coastal States could effectually arrogate themselves submarine areas beyond the 200 meter isobath depth, which was then regarded as the limit of the fgeographicalr shelf. Today coastal States make claims and exercise 'rights' over the whole of the continental margin and occasionally even beyond.