A Study Of International Judicial Practice Over The New Trend Of The Single Maritime Boundary Delimitation Method

A suitable maritime boundary delimitation method has deemed to meet the result not only fit into the principles on "equality" but also "land dominates the sea" under the context of customary international law,which due to an important issue to research for.According to statistics,77%of the states have adopted the single maritime boundary and equidistance/relevant circumstances method in their maritime boundary delimitation,which suggests that this method has become a new trend in recent maritime boundary delimitation.Thus it is important to examine:first,the steps and developments of this maritime boundary delimitation method in recent judicial practice;second,the advantages and disadvantages of this maritime boundary delimitation method.Through case studies,comparative research and literature analysis on recent cases,this thesis concludes that the "three-stage method",which is the latest development of the equidistance/relevant circumstances method,has been well established in recent delimitation cases.International courts and tribunals adopt this method to delimit the parties’ territorial sea,exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as a whole.The method divides the process of maritime boundary delimitation into three successive stages.At the first stage,the court needs to identify the relevant coasts that "generate projections which overlap with projections from the coast of the other Party".Then,the court needs to use base points which "mark a significant change in the direction of the coast" to construct a provisional equidistance line.At the second stage,the court needs to consider whether there are geographical or non-geographical factors related to entitlement and functions of the maritime zones,calling for the adjustment of the provisional equidistance line.At the third stage,the court needs to conduct a disproportionality test to check whether any "significant disproportionality" exists between the ratio of the respective coastal lengths and the ratio between the relevant maritime area of each party.In accordance with the principle of equity,the "three-stage method" provides a clearly articulated process for maritime boundary delimitation in pursuit of procedural fairness and substantial fairness.However,this maritime delimitation method also exists some problems.Firstly,in each stage of the method,the delimitation criteria and basis are not clear,which gives the court broader discretion.In some cases,the court weakens or even denies some geographical and non-geographical factors highly related to entitlement and functions of the maritime zones.Secondly,the application of "distance criteria" to continental shelf delimitation might give rise to the legality problem,since the entitlement of the coastal states to the continental shelf is based on the "natural prolongation criteria" as well.Thirdly,with regard to the continental shelf delimitation beyond 200 nm,by simply continuing the equidistance line within 200 nm,the method brings about the "grey area" problem,hindering the unified settlement of maritime disputes.The single maritime boundary and equidistance/relevant circumstances method is clear and predictable.This is the reason why international courts and tribunals adopt this method in almost every delimitation case.In order to better achieve an equitable delimitation solution,it is important to improve the objectivity and equity of this maritime boundary delimitation method and limit judicial discretion.In the future judicial practice,international courts and tribunals should follow the rules established by the previous cases,consider special circumstances of each case,and provide specific reasoning in their judgments to achieve these goals.