ABSTRACT
The Judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the North Sea Continental Shelf cases was heavily relied upon in the pleadings and extensively commented upon by the Court of Arbitration. To place the views of the Court of Arbitration in proper perspective, it is necessary first to review the Judgment of the ICJ in the North Sea cases and to examine the meaning of "special circumstances" in the Geneva Convention. The approach of the Court of Arbitration is particularly well illustrated by its treatment of defence and security interests. A practical example of the application of the proportionality factor is furnished by the Court of Arbitration's treatment of the Stilly Isles. The Court found that Article 6 of the Convention was applicable in principle to all of the arbitration area, with the exception of the Channel Islands region where the delimitation had to be determined by reference to the rules of international customary law.
