Land and Sea: Resolving Contested Land and Disappearing Land Disputes under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

Abstract

Revisiting themes from Land and Sea: Two Sovereignty Regimes in Search of a Common Denominator, this Chapter explores the interface between land and sea that has come into sharper relief in recent years. It briefly describes how different types of land interact with legal regimes for the allocation of maritime space, especially in relation to islands. From this basis, the Chapter explores how legal processes available under UNCLOS are being prevailed upon, or could be prevailed upon, not only to quiet maritime title but also to resolve territorial sovereignty conflicts persisting over islands. The Chapter further examines the matter of land lost to rising sea levels and human-made constructions of “land” along with the consequent implications for maritime allocations. It is argued that we need to recall that the common denominator between land and sea is a small one and the more we seek to align land and sea regimes, the more we end up reconstructing fundamental conceptions within international law.