Implication of the Equitable and Equidistance Principles in Delimitation of Continental Shelves: A South Asian Perspective

Abstract

States have long vied to control the resources found in the Oceans rendering the same as the hotspots for disputes and confrontations among countries. The unilateral delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the continental shelf by some countries aggravated the situation giving rise to an international legal regime to govern the huge resources of the Oceans which will ensure the equitable rights of all countries. The practices of the states as to the resolution of disputes regarding delimitation of the continental shelf caused the emergence of the equitable principle and the principle of equidistance as customary norms of international law. However, in some cases, for example the maritime disputes, equitable principle fails to be applied in the logical sense. In this outset, it has been strived for scrutinizing the application of the principle of equity in maritime issues and disputes as well as determining if the equitable principle always results in an equitable outcome.