Sea Level Change and Maritime Boundaries

Antoine Grima is a lecturer at the University of Malta and member of the International Law Association Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise.

• Acknowledgements * Table of Cases *Table of Treaties and Legal Instruments *List of Abbreviations *List of Illustrations *Introduction *Chapter 1: The Concern *1.1 Sea Level Rise and the Impact of a Changing Baseline *1.2 Conclusion *Chapter 2: The Baseline *2.1 The Normal Baseline *2.2 Atolls and Reefs *2.3 Straight Baselines *2.4 Coastlines: Deeply Indented, Cut into or the Presence of a Fringe of Islands *2.5 Mouths of Rivers *2.6 Bays *2.7 Particular Coastal Circumstances *2.7.1 Historic Bays *2.7.2 Highly Unstable Coastlines *2.8 Low-Tide Elevations *2.9 Archipelagic States *2.9.1 Straight Archipelagic Baselines *2.10 Base Points Along Ice Formations *2.11 Conclusion *Chapter 3: Islands *3.1 The Constitutive Elements of an Island *3.2 Rocks in the Regime of Islands *3.3 The Requirements of Human Habitation or Economic Life of their Own *3.4 Submerging Islands *3.5 "New" and "Uncovered" Islands *3.6 Conclusion *Chapter 4: The Judicial Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries *4.1 The Applicable Law Governing the Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries *4.2 Land - the Source of a State’s Rights over Adjacent Waters *4.3 Delimitation of Overlapping Maritime Zones *4.3.1 Base Points *4.4 Delimitation of the Territorial Sea *4.4.1 Historic Title or Special Circumstances *4.4.2 The Median Line *4.5 Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf *4.5.1 The Delimitation Methodologies and Coastal Geography *4.5.2 The Equidistance/Relevant Circumstances Method *4.5.3 Relevant Circumstances *4.5.4 The Disproportionality Test *4.6 The Angle-Bisector Method *4.7 Coastal Instability *4.8 Conclusion *Chapter 5: Stability and Clarity *5.1 Maritime Boundaries established by a Judicial Decision or an Agreement *5.2 Unilaterally Declared Maritime Boundaries *5.2.1 State Practice *5.2.2 Maritime Limits (1): Historic Title or Historic Rights *5.2.3 Maritime Limits (2): Permanence *5.4 Sea Level Rise and Maritime Delimitation by Judicial Institutions *5.5 Monitoring the Stability of Baselines and Base Points *5.6 Conclusion *Concluding Remarks *Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… *INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION DOCUMENTS *INTERNATIONAL LAW ASSOCIATION REPORTS *BOOKS *PAPERS IN JOURNALS *REPORTS *THESES/RESEARCH PAPERS *NEWSPAPER ARTICLES *SPEECHES *WEBSITES *OTHER *