ITLOS’s Approach to the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf beyond 200 Nautical Miles in the Bangladesh/Myanmar Case: Theoretical and Practical Difficulties

Abstract

The article is concerned with the delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles effected by the ITLOS in the Bangladesh/Myanmar case. The first section sets out the background to this part of the case. The next section sets out how the Tribunal dealt with the delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. The third section evaluates the Tribunal’s approach in the light of the existing case law on maritime delimitation. This, among others, concerns the link between the provisional delimitation method and the basis of entitlement to maritime zones. The next section looks at an example from practice to illustrate the kind of difficulties the approach of the Tribunal might run into and explains how the states concerned in that case have addressed the delimitation. A final section before the conclusions briefly discusses the literature on the delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles and suggests possible alternatives to the Tribunal’s approach.