Examination of the Overlapping Claims of Turkey and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus on the Maritime Areas to the West of the Island of Cyprus

Abstract

The recent rise in tensions in the region regarding the hydrocarbons issue in the Eastern Mediterranean has two particular implications for the Republic of Turkey. One is related to the ‘Cyprus issue’ itself, and the other concerns the maritime areas to the west of the longitude 32° 16’ 18”. In the present paper, the focus is placed on the conflicting claims of Turkey and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus over the maritime area off the southern Anatolian coast limited in the east by 32° 16’ 18” E longitude and in the south by the median line between the coasts of Turkey and Egypt. While getting to the root of the disagreement by referring back to the discussions at the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea on the relevant articles of the 1982 Convention, this paper addresses the issues of entitlement and delimitation by referring to judicial and arbitral decisions, the contemporary approach of the international courts, the studies that examine the state practice and the comments made by scholars thereon.