Another example of the importance of using the right method of measurement,
construction etc. is the decision of the arbitration in the Anglo-French
Continental Shelf arbitration in 1977. Because the expert (?) geographer
attached to the Tribunal, or the Tribunal itself, was obviously unaware
that the earth is round and used a map with a Mercator projection to draw
the line, the boundary was further north, esp. at its extremity, than it
should have been, by a substantial distance. The UK attempt to persuade
the Tribunal to revise its award failed, on rather weak grounds, you may
think. There were certainly a lot of red faces. It is since then,
especially, that boundary treaties, judgments and awards take care to refer
to geodesic lines.
Maurice Mendelson, Q.C.
Blackstone Chambers
Blackstone House
Temple, London EC4Y 9BW,
England.
Tel. +44 20 7583 1770; fax +4420 7822 7350; email
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