Equitable Principles of Maritime Boundary Delimitation
The Quest for Distributive Justice in International Law

Analysing the role of equity in international law, the book offers a detailed case study on maritime boundary delimitation.

Thomas Cottier (Author)

9781107080171, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 30 April 2015

836 pages, 25 maps
23.4 x 15.7 x 4.8 cm, 1.29 kg

Equity emerged as a powerful symbol of aspired redistribution in international relations. Operationally, it has had limited impact in the Westphalian system of nation states - except for maritime boundary delimitations. This book deals with the role of equity in international law, and offers a detailed case study on maritime boundary delimitation in the context of the enclosure movement in the law of the sea. It assesses treaty law and the impact of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It depicts the process of trial and error in the extensive case law of the International Court of Justice and arbitral tribunals and expounds the underlying principles and factors informing the methodology both in adjudication and negotiations. Unlike other books, the main focus is on equity and its implications for legal methodology, in particular offering further guidance in the field of international economic law.

Equity revisited: an introduction
Part I. Context: The Enclosure of the Seas: 1. The silent revolution
2. The new maritime zones: evolution and legal foundations
3. Distributive effects of the enclosure movement: an assessment of global equity
Part II. The New Boundaries: 4. Approaches to delimitation
5. State practice
6. Judicial and conciliatory settlements
7. An assessment of customary law
Part III. Delimitation Based on Equity: 8. The rule of equity
9. Conceptual issues and the context of equity
10. Justiciable standards of equity
11. The methodology of judicial boundary delimitation
12. The role of equity in negotiations.

Subject Areas: International economic & trade law [LBBM], Public international law [LBB], Law [L], International economics [KCL]