Equidistance – Special Circumstances: A Return to the Geneva Convention of 1958 or a Continuing Uncertainty?
Equidistance – Special Circumstances: A Return to the Geneva Convention of 1958 or a Continuing Uncertainty?

Summary/Abstract: Since the date of 3 February 2019 marks the 10th anniversary of the judgment of the international Court of Justice in the Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine) case, the study proposes an analysis of the relevant case-law in the field of maritime delimitations, in order to ascertain the existence of a trend towards the consecration of the ”equidistance – special circumstances” as the most pertinent method for international courts and tribunals, to effectuate maritime delimitations. The study demonstrates that the Black Sea case has been a turning point, which established, as a matter of ”acquis judiciaire”, that the equitable result envisaged by the relevant law (articles 74 and 83 of UNCLOS, reflecting customary international law) is to be achieved by the use of the ”equidistance – special circumstances” method (except for ”compelling reasons”). The line of cases which started with the Black Sea delimitation provided, as a matter of legal certainty, the predictability that this method will be used in the application of articles 74 and 83 of UNCLOS. However, the study shows that certain difficulties persist with respect to the ”way in which” the method will be applied, especially in the light of certain special circumstances, such as ”concavity” or ”cut-off effect”.

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