The extended continental shelves of sub-Antarctic Islands: implications for Antarctic governance
ABSTRACT This article considers the legal and policy issues surrounding the establishment of continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles (nm) from sub-Antarctic islands. Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) a coastal state may establish a continental shelf that e...
Published in: | Polar Record |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2010
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247409990532 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247409990532 |
id |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247409990532 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247409990532 2024-10-06T13:43:02+00:00 The extended continental shelves of sub-Antarctic Islands: implications for Antarctic governance Hemmings, Alan D. Stephens, Tim 2010 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247409990532 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247409990532 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 46, issue 4, page 312-327 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 journal-article 2010 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247409990532 2024-09-11T04:04:27Z ABSTRACT This article considers the legal and policy issues surrounding the establishment of continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles (nm) from sub-Antarctic islands. Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) a coastal state may establish a continental shelf that extends seawards beyond 200 nm where the continental shelf continues, normally to a total distance of no more than 350 nm. To establish such an extended continental shelf (ECS) a coastal state must file a submission of delineation data with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a technical body established by UNCLOS. The rights of coastal states present particular difficulties in the Antarctic Treaty area (ATA), due to the general non-recognition of the seven territorial claims and the provisions of article IV of the Antarctic Treaty. Accordingly, Antarctic claimant states are generally adopting a restrained approach to the issue of ECS as appertaining to claimed territories in Antarctica in their submissions to the CLCS. These states appear to recognise that they cannot secure the normal prerogatives of a coastal state from territorial sea baselines within the ATA, at least for the duration of the present Antarctic Treaty system (ATS). A different approach is being taken with respect of sub-Antarctic islands lying north of the ATA. Sovereignty over sub-Antarctic territory north of the ATA is, with the exception of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, not contested. Accordingly, rights in relation to any continental shelf attaching to sub-Antarctic islands may be realised, apparently without challenging the Antarctic modus vivendi . However, the ECS of several sub-Antarctic islands penetrate the ATA. In 2008, the CLCS largely endorsed the 2004 Australian submission that included data on ECS from Australia's sub-Antarctic islands of Macquarie Island and the Heard and McDonald group. The ECS from both groups penetrates south of 60°S into the ATA, in the case of Heard and McDonald covering ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Macquarie Island Polar Record South Sandwich Islands Cambridge University Press Antarctic The Antarctic Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands South Georgia ENVELOPE(-33.000,-33.000,-56.000,-56.000) Polar Record 46 4 312 327 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
ABSTRACT This article considers the legal and policy issues surrounding the establishment of continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles (nm) from sub-Antarctic islands. Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) a coastal state may establish a continental shelf that extends seawards beyond 200 nm where the continental shelf continues, normally to a total distance of no more than 350 nm. To establish such an extended continental shelf (ECS) a coastal state must file a submission of delineation data with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a technical body established by UNCLOS. The rights of coastal states present particular difficulties in the Antarctic Treaty area (ATA), due to the general non-recognition of the seven territorial claims and the provisions of article IV of the Antarctic Treaty. Accordingly, Antarctic claimant states are generally adopting a restrained approach to the issue of ECS as appertaining to claimed territories in Antarctica in their submissions to the CLCS. These states appear to recognise that they cannot secure the normal prerogatives of a coastal state from territorial sea baselines within the ATA, at least for the duration of the present Antarctic Treaty system (ATS). A different approach is being taken with respect of sub-Antarctic islands lying north of the ATA. Sovereignty over sub-Antarctic territory north of the ATA is, with the exception of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, not contested. Accordingly, rights in relation to any continental shelf attaching to sub-Antarctic islands may be realised, apparently without challenging the Antarctic modus vivendi . However, the ECS of several sub-Antarctic islands penetrate the ATA. In 2008, the CLCS largely endorsed the 2004 Australian submission that included data on ECS from Australia's sub-Antarctic islands of Macquarie Island and the Heard and McDonald group. The ECS from both groups penetrates south of 60°S into the ATA, in the case of Heard and McDonald covering ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hemmings, Alan D. Stephens, Tim |
spellingShingle |
Hemmings, Alan D. Stephens, Tim The extended continental shelves of sub-Antarctic Islands: implications for Antarctic governance |
author_facet |
Hemmings, Alan D. Stephens, Tim |
author_sort |
Hemmings, Alan D. |
title |
The extended continental shelves of sub-Antarctic Islands: implications for Antarctic governance |
title_short |
The extended continental shelves of sub-Antarctic Islands: implications for Antarctic governance |
title_full |
The extended continental shelves of sub-Antarctic Islands: implications for Antarctic governance |
title_fullStr |
The extended continental shelves of sub-Antarctic Islands: implications for Antarctic governance |
title_full_unstemmed |
The extended continental shelves of sub-Antarctic Islands: implications for Antarctic governance |
title_sort |
extended continental shelves of sub-antarctic islands: implications for antarctic governance |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247409990532 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247409990532 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-33.000,-33.000,-56.000,-56.000) |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands South Georgia |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands South Georgia |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Macquarie Island Polar Record South Sandwich Islands |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Macquarie Island Polar Record South Sandwich Islands |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 46, issue 4, page 312-327 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247409990532 |
container_title |
Polar Record |
container_volume |
46 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
312 |
op_container_end_page |
327 |
_version_ |
1812178437301862400 |