Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 March 2018
The charm of maritime delimitation and its enigmatic lessons hardly surprise us, yet the reasoning behind them sometimes seems seductively elusive. On September 23, 2017, a Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued its decision in Ghana v. Ivory Coast. The glamour of maritime delimitation is reason enough to note the judgment, but the case also addresses the equidistance principle for maritime delimitation, the standard for the acceptance of a tacit agreement, and international responsibility under Article 83 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
1 Dispute Concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary Between Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean (Ghana v. Côte d'Ivoire), Case No. 23, Judgment of Sept. 23 2017.
2 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, opened for signature Dec. 10, 1982, 1833 UNTS 396 (entered into force Nov. 16, 1994) [hereinafter UNCLOS].
3 Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary Between Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean (Ghana v. Côte d'Ivoire), Order of Apr. 25, 2016.
4 Territorial and Maritime Dispute Between Nicaragua and Honduras in the Caribbean Sea (Nicar. v. Hond.), Judgment, 2007 ICJ Rep. 659 (Oct. 8).
5 See Sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan (Indon. v. Malay.), Judgment, 2002 ICJ Rep. 625 (Dec. 17).
6 Quoting Maritime Dispute (Peru v. Chile), Judgment, 2014 ICJ Rep. 3, 45, para. 111 (Jan. 27).
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