Maritime Boundary Disputes, Settlement Processes, and the Law of the Sea

A surprising number of maritime boundaries remain unresolved, and a range of reasons can be cited to explain why the process of delimiting these boundaries has been so slow.

This volume addresses and analyzes some of these reasons, focusing on some of the volatile disputes in Northeast Asia and in North America. Scholars from Asia, the United States, and Europe grapple with festering controversies and apply insights gained from resolved disputes to those that remain unresolved. Islands continue to haunt this process, and the way in which they should affect maritime boundaries remains in dispute.

The United States has a number of disputed boundaries with its neighbors to the north and south, and these are examined. Antarctica is a concern of all nations, and the regimes governing the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica are analyzed. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea was created to allow countries to resolve their disputes peacefully, and two chapters look at how this new court is operating. The impact of sea-level rise on maritime boundaries is given special attention in the opening chapter.

This volume presents a wonderful collection of provocative chapters written by the top scholars in the field of International Ocean Law. It should help scholars, students, and decision makers to understand the current state of this field and to move some of the difficult disputes toward resolution.

PREFACE
Harry N. Scheiber and David D. Caron, Co-Directors,
Law of the Sea Institute, University of California at Berkeley
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Seoung-Yong Hong and Jon M. Van Dyke
I. Climate Change, Sea Level Rise and the Coming Uncertainty in Oceanic Boundaries: A Proposal to Avoid Conflict
David D. Caron
II. The Trouble with Islands: Th e Defi nition and Role of Islands and Rocks in Maritime Boundary delimitation
Clive Schofield
III. Disputes Over Islands and Maritime Boundaries in East Asia
Jon M. Van Dyke
IV. Sino-Japanese Jurisdictional Delimitation in East China Sea: Approaches to Dispute Settlement
Ji Guoxing
V. Some Thoughts on Maritime Boundary Delimitation
Masahiro Miyoshi
VI. Intertemporal Law, Recent Judgments and Territorial Disputes in Asia
Seokwoo Lee
VII. Some Legal Aspects of Territorial Disputes over Islands
Kentaro Serita
VIII. Okinotorishima: A “Rock” or an “Island”? Recent Maritime Boundary Controversy between Japan and Taiwan/China
Yann-huei Song
IX. Canada-U.S. International Ocean Law Relations in the North Pacific: Disputes, Agreements and Cooperation
Ted L. McDorman
X. Maritime Boundary Delimitation and Cooperative Management of Transboundary Hydrocarbons in the Ultra-Deepwaters of the Gulf of Mexico
Richard J. McLaughlin
XI. The Law of the Sea Convention and the Antarctic Treaty System: Constraints or Complementarity?
Marcus Haward
XII. The Contribution of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to International Law
Helmut Tuerk
XIII. The Tomimaru Case: Confiscation and Prompt Release
Bernard H. Oxman
INDEX