Home » Articles » Judicial and Arbitral Proceedings and the Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf
Judicial and Arbitral Proceedings and the Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf
PDF · John E. Noyes ·
Jul-11-2012 ·
42 VAND. J. TRANSNAT'L L. 1211 (2009)
This Article explores when international third-party dispute settlement forums may hear cases concerning the outer limits of a continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from baselines. The 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea articulated determinate rules for establishing those limits and created an institution—the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf—to make recommendations concerning them. Limits set by coastal states “on the basis of” such recommendations “shall be final and binding.” Yet the Law of the Sea Convention’s third-party dispute settlement system may also apply to outer limits questions concerning the Arctic Ocean and other oceans.
International courts and tribunals are likely to play only limited roles in reviewing a coastal state’s compliance with the substantive and procedural requirements of the Law of the Sea Convention related to the outer limits of its continental shelf. Rules about jurisdiction and standing, and the need to accord appropriate deference to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, will restrict the cases that may be pursued. Although third-party tribunals might issue occasional advisory opinions or rulings in contentious interstate cases, helping to settle disputes or promote consistent and accurate application of the law, alternative mechanisms will often have to further these goals.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Articles, Vol. 42 No. 4, Volume 42, Volumes.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Announcements
The Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law hosted a symposium called “The Role of Non-State Actors in International Law” at Vanderbilt University Law School in February 2013. The October issue of the Journal will showcase articles by distinguished symposium guests including:
Mr. Ian Smillie, “Blood Diamonds and Non-State Actors”
Professor Jean d’Aspremont, “Cognitive Conflicts and the Making of International Law from Empirical Concord to Conceptual Discord in Legal Scholarship”
Professor Peter J. Spiro, “Constraining Global Corporate Power: A Very Short Introduction”
Professor Suzanne Katzenstein
Professor Peter Margulies
Professor Harlan G. Cohen
We are pleased to announce our annual award recipients for 2012-2013.
Masamichi Yamamoto Second-Year Editor Award: Kennedy Meier
Outstanding Third Year Editor Award: Alex Rinn
Grace Wilson Sims Medal in Transnational Law: Molly Chen
Grace Wilson Sims Prize for Student Writing in Transnational Law: Margaret Artz
Note Selections for 2013-14
The Publication Committee is pleased to announce the 2L student Notes selected for publication in the 2013-14 issues. Please follow this link: Note Selections for 2013
A special congratulations to Stella Forcehimes, who successfully “Noted-on” to the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. Please congratulate her if you see her around school.
The Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law is now ranked the 9th best international law journal according to the Washington & Lee School of Law Library Law Journal Rankings. For more information, please visit: Washington & Lee Journal Rankings
The Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law is excited to announce the 2013-2014 Board of Editors. We had an exceptional pool of candidates to choose from and were very impressed by the enthusiasm and thoughtfulness this class displayed throughout the selection process. Please join us in congratulating them!
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals cites Head of State Immunity As Sole Executive Lawmaking by Lewis Yelin, written for the 2011 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law Symposium: Foreign State Immunity at Home and Abroad. Yousuf v Samantar Opinion (4th Circuit)
Vanderbilt University law professor Ingrid Wuerth has been selected as a reporter for the Restatement (Fourth) of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States, published by the American Law Institute. She will work on the immunities chapters, along with David Stewart, a visiting professor of law at Georgetown Law and former State Department official.
View the most recent Jonathan I. Charney Distinguished Lecture in Public International Law, presented by Fatou B. Bensouda.
Explore Other Vanderbilt Law Resources