Climate Change and Maritime Boundaries : Legal Consequences of Sea Level Rise

Coastal States exercise sovereignty and sovereign rights in maritime zones, measured from their coasts. The limits to these maritime zones are bound to recede as sea levels rise and coastlines are eroded. Furthermore, ocean acidification and ocean warming are increasingly threatening coastal ecosystems, which States are obligated to protect and manage sustainably. These changes, accelerating as the planet heats, prompt an urgent need to clarify and update the international law of maritime zones. This book explains how bilateral maritime boundaries are established, and how coastal instability and vulnerable ecosystems can affect the delimitation process through bilateral negotiations or judicial settlement. Árnadóttir engages with core concepts within public international law to address emerging issues, such as diminishing territory and changing boundaries. She proposes viable ways of addressing future challenges and sets out how fundamental changes to the marine environment can justify termination or revision of settled maritime boundaries and related agreements. "The international law of the sea is premised on the fact that maritime entitlements are generated by the coast. This is rooted in the assumption that territory is permanent and, consequently, a relatively stable basis for the division of jurisdictional zones at sea. However, sea level rise and coastal erosion are currently tearing at the foundation of all maritime entitlements, in ways that were not anticipated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter UNCLOS or the Convention).1 This unprecedented situation has prompted the International Law Association (hereinafter ILA) to convene two Committees, one on the subject of baselines and another one addressing the effects of sea level rise on international law. Furthermore, the International Law Commission (hereinafter ILC or the Commission) recently added the topic 'sea level rise in relation to international law' to its longterm programme of work"-- Provided by publisher 03.0_pp_iv_iv_Copyright_page 2 04.0_pp_v_vii_Contents 6 05.0_pp_viii_ix_Acknowledgements 9 06.0_pp_x_xiii_Table_of_Cases 11 07.0_pp_xiv_xviii_Table_of_Treaties_and_Legislation 15 08.0_pp_xix_xx_Abbreviations 20 09.0_pp_1_2_Introduction 22 10.0_pp_3_12_Law_of_the_Sea_and_the_Changing_Marine_Environment 24 11.0_pp_13_82_Unilaterally_Declared_Maritime_Limits 34 12.0_pp_83_131_Maritime_Delimitation_and_Coastal_Instability 104 13.0_pp_132_167_Maritime_Delimitation_and_the_Marine_Environment 153 14.0_pp_168_219_Fundamental_Change_of_Circumstances 189 15.0_pp_220_225_Conclusion 241 16.0_pp_226_238_Bibliography 247 17.0_pp_239_248_Index 260 "This book explains how bilateral maritime boundaries are established, and how coastal instability and vulnerable ecosystems can affect the delimitation process through bilateral negotiations or judicial settlement. It engages with core concepts within public international law to address emerging issues, such as diminishing territory and changing boundaries. The author proposes ways of addressing future challenges and sets out how fundamental changes to the marine environment can justify termination or revision of settled maritime boundaries and related agreements"-- Provided by the publisher The accelerating changes to the world's coastlines caused by climate change are affecting the law of the sea. Arnadottir explains how the extent of national jurisdiction changes with receding coasts, how environmental changes threaten the stability of internationally settled maritime boundaries and how these adverse effects can be mitigated. The accelerating changes to the world's coastlines caused by climate change are affecting the law of the sea. Árnadóttir explains how the extent of national jurisdiction changes with receding coasts, how environmental changes threaten the stability of internationally settled maritime boundaries and how these adverse effects can be mitigated. An investigation of how climate change affects maritime boundaries, suggesting ways for the international law community to mitigate the effects