ABSTRACT
The year 2013 marked the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Great Britain and Spain: a treaty signed on 13 July 1713, in Utrecht, under which the Spanish kingdom ceded the city of Gibraltar to Great Britain. The Treaty of Utrecht, in reality, plays a fundamental part in the Gibraltar controversy for Spain, since it is the primary agreement and, as such, includes a series of restrictions that are of great interest to Spain. The aforementioned option prevents the Forum's reactivation because the party with which the Forum was agreed and the party with which the trilateral structure was jointly established oppose modifying the initial composition. The Spanish theory is arguable in terms of the nature of its doctrine; and the line of action followed by Spain does not favour such an approach, as the maritime area surrounding the Rock — only the UK has jurisdiction over such waters — has been recognized de facto.
