The boundary dispute between Canada and the U.S. in the Beaufort Sea: problems of regulation

Abstract

The dispute between Canada and the United States on the line of demarcation of the water area and the continental shelf in the Beaufort Sea has been ongoing since the mid-1970s. Canada proposes to draw this line along the 141st meridian of the west longitude, and the United States - on the equidistance principle. In the 2000s the subject of the dispute expanded to include also the demarcation of the extended continental shelf of the two countries in the Arctic. Against the backdrop of extremely high oil prices in the late 2000s – mid 2010s attempts by the two countries to resolve this dispute intensified, but the subsequent fall in oil prices reduced the interest of Canada and the United States in resolving this dispute.