Continental shelf delimitation in areas beyond 200nm: The relationship between the CLCS, its recommendations and international Courts and Tribunals.

Abstract

This thesis sets out to analyse available case law on the delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nm for the purpose of clarifying the relationship between the Commission, its recommendations and international courts and tribunals. In Dispute Concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean (Ghana/Côte d’Ivoire) in 2017, the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) was the first adjudicative body to delimit the continental shelf beyond 200 nm where one of the parties to the dispute had already received recommendations from the CLCS concerning the location of the outer limits of its continental shelf. This thesis will in particular discuss whether the existence of CLCS recommendations impacted the work of the Special Chamber in delimiting the continental shelf and compare the Ghana/Côte d’Ivoire delimitation with previous judicial practice on delimitation beyond 200 nm, where the CLCS has not issued recommendations.