International Law of the Sea and the Nicaraguan Cases

Abstract

When considered in sum, the Nicaraguan ICJ cases have made significant contributions to the development of the law of the sea and to international law more generally. The most prominent of the ICJ Nicaraguan law of the sea cases has been the 2012 Territorial and Maritime Dispute (Nicaragua v. Colombia) case where the Court was called upon to determine sovereignty over a number of islands and maritime features in the South-Western Caribbean Sea claimed by Nicaragua and Colombia, the maritime entitlements of those features, and the consequent exclusive economic zone (EEZ)/continental shelf boundary. That case has particular significance in terms of how the ICJ sought to characterise certain maritime features in the Caribbean Sea, and how it then determined the relevant maritime boundary. This chapter reviews these and other Nicaraguan cases before the ICJ which have had an impact on the development of the law of the sea. The analysis proceeds on the basis of an assessment of the particular law of the sea dimension which the ICJ commented upon in its judgments. Six law of the sea issues are assessed commencing with the characterisation of maritime features, followed by the status of low-tide elevations, historic bays, internal waters, the regime of islands, and the delimitation of maritime boundaries.