ABSTRACT
The concept of the baseline is of supreme importance in the law of the sea because it constitutes the point from which the breadth of any particular maritime zone is calculated. At customary international law the baseline was formed by the low water mark around the coast of a state. This principle was reflected in Art 3 of the Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone (1958) which reads: ‘Except where otherwise provided ... the normal baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea is the low water line along the coast as marked on largescale charts officially recognised by the coastal state.’ This wording is repeated in Art 5 of the Law of the Sea Convention (1982) and the text of the article appears under the heading ‘Normal Baseline’.
