A New Limit to the Entitlement of a Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles?

We are delighted to welcome Dr Leonardo Bernard, senior lecturer at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) to deliver a presentation on the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. 

About the Event

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides coastal States with rights to a minimum legal continental shelf of 200 nautical miles (M) from their baselines – regardless of the physical condition of the seabed – which overlaps with the entitlement to the 200 M Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Beyond this limit, coastal States may have jurisdiction over the continental shelf to the outer limit of the continental margin, provided the natural prolongation of their land territories extends beyond 200 M. In certain scenarios, the entitlement of the continental shelf of one coastal State beyond 200 M might encroach within 200 M of another State. This situation creates the need to balance different entitlements and raises the problem of interaction and even potential delimitation between these overlapping entitlements. This was exactly the situation between Nicaragua and Colombia which was the subject of a recent decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Specifically, the ICJ stated that the continental shelf beyond 200 M cannot overlap with the area within 200 M of another State's baselines. This potentially creates a new constraint line that limits the entitlement of coastal States to a continental shelf beyond 200 M. Furthermore, these decisions hold significant implications for the concept of a 'single continental shelf' and raise questions about the necessity of establishing grey areas in the future. This presentation will thoroughly explore all these matters. 

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