THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUIDISTANCE AND RELEVANT CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE DELIMITATION OF THE CONTINENTAL SHELF: AN ANALYSIS OF THE LIBYA AND MALTA CASE
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study examines the delimitation of the continental shelf between Libya and Malta in the Mediterranean Sea based on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment. The study focuses on the legal principles applied by the Court, Italy's intervention, and the use of equity and proportionality in determining the maritime boundary. Using normative legal research with case and statutory approaches, this study analyzes the ICJ judgments and relevant international legal instruments. The findings show that the ICJ rejected Italy's intervention because it could introduce a dispute involving a third state without the consent of the parties. In the main judgment, the Court emphasized the distance principle and considered geological and geophysical factors irrelevant within 200 nautical miles. The Court rejected both the rift-zone approach and the mandatory application of equidistance. Instead, it used a provisional median line and adjusted it according to relevant circumstances, particularly the significant disparity in the coastal lengths of Libya and Malta, to achieve an equitable and proportionate result.
Downloads
Article Details
Section
How to Cite
References
A. Books
Brownlie, Ian, Principles of Public International Law, 8th Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Churchill, Robin Rolf and A.V. Lowe, The Law of the Sea, 3rd Edition, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999.
Crawford, James, Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law, 9th Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
Kusumaatmadja, Mochtar, International Law of the Sea, Bandung: Binacipta, 1986.
Marzuki, Peter Mahmud, Legal Research, Jakarta: Kencana, 2005.
Shaw, Malcolm N., International Law, 9th Edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021.
Tanaka, Yoshifumi, The International Law of the Sea, 3rd Edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Weil, Prosper, The Law of Maritime Delimitation — Reflections, Cambridge: Grotius, 1989.
B. International Journal
Anderson, David H., "The Significance of Maritime Boundary Agreements", International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, Vol. 21, No. 4, 2006, pp. 457-476.
Charney, Jonathan I., "Progress in International Maritime Boundary Delimitation Law", American Journal of International Law, Vol. 88, No. 2, 1994, pp. 227-256.
Colson, David A., "The Delimitation of the Outer Continental Shelf between Neighboring States", American Journal of International Law, Vol. 97, No. 1, 2003, pp. 91-107.
Evans, Malcolm D., "Delimitation and the Common Maritime Boundary", British Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 64, 1993, pp. 283-342.
Kwiatkowska, Barbara, "The Libya/Malta Continental Shelf Case: Refinishing Equitable Principles", International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1986, pp. 40-72.
Lathrop, Coalter G., "Continental Shelf Delimitation beyond 200 Nautical Miles: The Roles of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and International Courts", American Journal of International Law, Vol. 104, No. 3, 2010, pp. 541-547.
McDorman, Ted L., "The Role of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf: A Technical Body in a Political World", International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2002, pp. 301-344.
Shi, Jiuyong, "Maritime Delimitation in the Jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice", Chinese Journal of International Law, Vol. 9, No. 2, 2010, pp. 271-291.
Tanaka, Yoshifumi, "Reflections on the Concept of Proportionality in the Law of Maritime Delimitation", International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2001, pp. 433-475.
Weil, Prosper, "A Propos de la Geographie dans la Jurisprudence Internationale", Revue Générale de Droit International Public, Vol. 94, No. 3, 1990, pp. 537-576.
C. National Journal
Nurfadhilah, Ayu, "Principles of International Law in the Settlement of Maritime Boundary Disputes", Journal of International Law, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2018, pp. 215-240.
Purba, Hikmahanto, "The Development of International Law of the Sea After UNCLOS 1982 and Its Relevance to Indonesia", Journal of Law and Development, Vol. 48, No. 3, 2018, pp. 432-451.
Wahyudi, Ahmad, "Delimitation of Indonesia's Maritime Boundaries: International Law Perspective", IUS QUIA IUSTUM Legal Journal, Vol. 24, No. 3, 2017, pp. 401-425.
D. International Verdict
International Court of Justice, Continental Shelf (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya/Malta), Application by Italy for Permission to Intervene, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1984, p. 3.
International Court of Justice, Continental Shelf (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya/Malta), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1985, p. 13.
International Court of Justice, North Sea Continental Shelf Cases (Federal Republic of Germany v. Denmark; Federal Republic of Germany v. Netherlands), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1969, p. 3.
International Court of Justice, Continental Shelf (Tunisia/Libyan Arab Jamahiriya), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1982, p. 18.
E. Instruments of International Law
Convention on the Continental Shelf, Geneva, 29 April 1958, United Nations Treaty Series, Vol. 499, p. 311.
Rules of Court of the International Court of Justice, 14 April 1978 (as amended).
Statute of the International Court of Justice, San Francisco, 26 June 1945.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Montego Bay, 10 December 1982, United Nations Treaty