The Impact of Advisory Opinions from the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea on the Work of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf: An Essay in Honor of Ted L. McDorman

Abstract

In the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission Advisory Opinion, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea confirmed it possessed the jurisdiction to deliver an advisory opinion upon the request of as few as two states. This essay considers what this might mean, as the implications of this jurisdiction are significant, in terms of both the law of the sea generally, and the potential impact for the operation of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. These implications were magnified after the decision in Mauritius-Maldives Maritime Boundary Case (Preliminary Objections) which considered the status of an advisory opinion.