According to the ICJ judgment on the dispute of the lawsuit filed by Nicaragua against Colombia related to the continental shelf, a historic ruling is issued on July 13. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) addressed the issue of the delimitation of the continental shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia. The dispute revolves around the limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the Nicaraguan coast.
Nicaragua initiated the process against Colombia in 2013, seeking clarification on the delimitation of the continental shelf between the two countries. Nicaragua proposed coordinates for the limit of the continental shelf in the area beyond 200 nautical miles from its coast but within 200 nautical miles from the Colombian mainland coast.
Nicaragua submitted coordinates to determine the area of overlap between its right to an extended continental shelf and Colombia’s right to a continental shelf within 200 nautical miles from the coasts of San Andrés and Providencia.
Nicaragua requested the Court to declare that the islands of Serranilla, Bajo Nuevo and Serrana should be granted a territorial sea of twelve nautical miles each.
In October 2022, the ICJ decided to address certain questions of law before considering the technical and scientific aspects of the case. The Court requested Nicaragua and Colombia to limit their arguments to two specific questions.
The first question posed to the Court was whether, under customary international law, a state’s right to a continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles could extend within 200 nautical miles of another state’s baselines. The ICJ concluded that, under customary international law, a state’s right to a continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles cannot extend within 200 nautical miles of another state’s baselines.
The second question concerned the criteria for determining the limit of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles and whether the specific articles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) reflected customary international law. However, due to the Court’s ruling on the first question, it was not necessary to address the second question.
The Court examined Nicaragua’s submissions. In its ruling, the ICJ rejected Nicaragua’s requests for the delimitation of the continental shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 nautical miles. It determined that Nicaragua was not entitled to an extended continental shelf within 200 nautical miles from the continental coast of Colombia or the coasts of San Andrés and Providencia.
With respect to the islands of Serranilla and Bajo Nuevo, the Court noted that their possible maritime rights could not overlap with the extended continental shelf of Nicaragua. It concluded that there was no need to determine the scope of its rights to resolve the dispute.
Conclusion
The ICJ ruled against Nicaragua’s requests for the delimitation of the continental shelf with Colombia. The ruling clarifies the legal framework for determining the limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles under customary international law.
The ICJ decision puts an end to the dispute between Nicaragua and Colombia, providing important guidance on the interpretation of international maritime law and the delimitation of continental shelves in similar cases. However, the worrisome consequence of the ruling in general continues to be the closure of the Islands of San Andrés and Providencia and its involvement in the food security of traditional fishermen. Although the regime of the Exclusive Economic Zone disappears the traditional historical right of artisanal fishing that Colombia failed to prove before the ICJ.
What will proceed – both nations affirmed – is to negotiate a treaty where food security and the historical rights of traditional fishermen are jointly guaranteed.
See the article “Traditional Fishing Rights: Nicaragua vs. Colombia dispute“
Source: CIJ
