125 / 532
109
WHAT IS THE LEGAL REGIME OF THE ARCTIC?
to 6. According to Benith,
61
the Convention sets
two limits as to the breadth
of the
continental shelf.
The first
limit is contained in Article 76, paragraph 4 and contains
two rules. Both of them are based on the term
the foot of the continental slope
.
The
foot
of the continental slope is considered to be determined as
the point of maximum
change in the gradient at its base.
62
The coastal state may delineate straight baselines
a) by reference to the outermost fixed points at each of which the thickness of
sedimentary rocks is at least 1 per cent of the shortest distance from such point to
the foot of the continental slope, or b) by reference to fixed points not more than 60
nautical miles from the foot of the continental slope.
To prevent the danger of arbitrary interpretation
63
of this definition and conflicts
that may arise between coastal states and other states, the Convention contains
another restriction.
The second
restriction, termed
maximal
breadth restriction of the
continental shelf
, is defined in Article 76, paragraph 5. According to this provision
the fixed points comprising the line of the outer limits of the continental shelf on the
seabed, drawn in accordance with paragraph 4, either shall
not exceed 350
nautical
miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured
or shall not exceed
100 nautical miles from the 2,500 metre isobath
, which is a line
connecting the depth of 2,500 metres.
In cases where the continental shelf would exceed 200 nautical miles from the
basic lines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, the coastal State
shall delineate the outer limits of its continental shelf by straight lines not exceeding
60 nautical miles in length, connecting fixed points, defined by coordinates of
latitude and longitude (Article 76, paragraph 7).
Evans
64
commented on the above mentioned paragraphs as being
complicated
provisions, difficult to be applied
and
their customary nature being unclear
.
Delineation of the limit of the continental shelf that exceeds 200 nautical
miles, however, was not to be left to individual states only. On the basis of the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea, the
Commission on the Limits of the Continental
Shelf
65
was created. It consists of 21 members. According to Article 76, paragraph 8
of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, the
coastal state
shall submit to the
Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf set up under Annex II, on
the basis of equitable geographical representation,
information on the limits of the
continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth
of the territorial sea is measured
. The Commission shall make
recommendations
to
61
Benitah, M., Russia’s Claim in the Arctic and the Vexing Issue of of Ridges in UNCLOS.
ASIL
(American Society of International Law) Insights
, Volume 8, 2007,
available at:
www.asil.org/insights(
accessed on
10 July 2013).
62
Kopal, V.,
Problémy nové kodifikace mezinárodního práva mořského
. [Problems new codification of
international law of sea] Praha: Academia, 1983, pp. 79-80.
63
Ibid.
, p. 80.
64
Evans, M. D. (editor),
op. cit.
, p. 642.
65
Annex II to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea from 1982. (In Czech: Příloha II k Úmluvě
OSN o mořském právu z roku 1982 vyhl. č. 240/1996 Sb.)