ABSTRACT
The law of the sea has significantly developed since the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, also through the judicial and arbitral decision. In particular, the methodology of maritime delimitation has been established by the International Court of Justice, which is now widely applied, also in direct negotiations between coastal states, and believed to be a reflection of customary international law. In addition, with the scientific and technological progress the exploitation of the outer continental shelf has been made possible with states making submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. Against this background, the purpose of the present contribution is to show how achievement of international courts and tribunal in the field of maritime delimitation under the UNCLOS regime. Also, a particular attention will be paid to the questions concerning delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nm to show possible perspective of maritime delimitation. In this regard, the contribution will review the recent decisions in Ghana/Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritius/Maldives and Colombia v. Nicaragua.
