This chapter addresses the unbalanced protection of private rights in land and maritime boundary-making. Based on the observation that private rights are more effectively protected on land, the study argues for a reconstruction of the maritime delimitation framework so that private interests in disputed areas are taken into account. The similarities between land and maritime delimitation processes and the common need for the protection of private interests in both settings allow for the application of legal analogy. This allows certain principles which apply in land delimitation to be extended to maritime delimitation. Against this background, the chapter provides a series of short- and long-term means which can be implemented by states and judicial bodies performing maritime delimitation, as well as by policymakers engaged in the development of international law.

This chapter examines the role of private rights in the process of land and maritime delimitation. To determine this, the study performs a comparative analysis in pairs. Firstly, it compares the effect of private rights in land and maritime delimitation treaties. Then it compares the effect of private rights in land and maritime delimitation rulings. A synthesis of the findings reached shows that the effect of private rights is extensive and significant in land delimitation, but restricted or even absent in maritime delimitation. Hence, the risk of reallocation is greater for offshore private rights in the first place. This asymmetry has important implications for private actors operating in contested waters and for international law in general.