Dear Mr. George Huguet,
The topic has been researched intensively in the past. For example, please
see the following UN publications:
Archipelagic States - Legislative History of Part IV of the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea.
UN Sales number E.90.V.2 132pp.
Practice of Archipelagic States.
UN Sales number E.92.V.3 257pp.
Maritime Baselines.
UN Sales Number E.88.V.5 79pp.
Baselines - National Legislation with Illustrative Maps.
UN Sales Number E.89.V.10 391pp.
Also:
Agoes, E.R. (1992). The Archipelagic State Provisions of the 1992 UNCLOS, an
Overview. In Proceedings of the First International Conference on Geodetic
Aspects of the Law of the Sea, Bali, Indonesia, 8-11 June, pp. 14-21.
Carrera, G. (1992). An Iterative Method for the Investigation of
Archipelagic Status. In Proceedings of the First International Conference
on Geodetic Aspects of the Law of the Sea, Bali, Indonesia, 8-11 June, pp.
80-84.
Hodgson, R.D. and L.M. Alexander (1972). Towards an objective analysis of
special circumstances. Bays, rivers, coastal and oceanic archipelagoes and
atolls. Law of the Sea Institute, University of Rhode Island, Occasional
Paper No. 13.
Kusumaatmadja, M. (1982). The Concept of the Indonesian Archipelago.
Indonesian Quarterly X, 4, 12-26.
Kwiatoska, B. and E.R. Agoes (1990). Archipelagic waters: an assessment of
national legislation. International Symposium at the Crossroads: The
continuing search for a universally accepted regime. Institute of
International Law.
Lee, H.C. (1974). An Archipelagic Claim for Papua New Guinea. Melanesian
Law Journal 2 (1): 91-107.
McLoughlin, D. (1972). The Approach by Fiji -A Mid-Ocean Archipelago- to
the Conference on the Law of the Sea. Melanesian Law Journal 1 (3): 37-46.
Mendoza, E.P. (1971). The Base-Lines of the Philippine Archipelago.
Philippine Law Journal 46 (4): 628-638.
Munavvar, M. (1993). Ocean States: Archipelagic regimes in the law of the
sea. Dalhousie University J.S.D. Dissertation.
Prescott, J.R.V. (1987). Straight and archipelagic baselines. In Maritime
Boundaries and Ocean Resources. G. Blake, Editor, pp. 38-51.
Tangsubkul, P. (1984). The Southeast Asian Archipelagic States: Concept,
Evolution and Current Practice. East-West Environment and Policy Institute,
Honolulu.
Plus classic texts such as those by O'Connell, and Churchill and Lowe, plus
the references quoted therein.
I would suggest consulting the impressive compilation made by Platzöder for
a closer examination of the discussions held at the time of the Third
Conference:
Platzöder, R. (1973-1984). Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the
Sea. Documents. Volumes I-XIX. Oceana Publications, Dobbs Ferry.
The bibliography quoted above has an English language bias but several
valuable books and articles on the law of the sea in French, Spanish and
other languages also contain very useful information and notes on this
subject.
Regards,
Galo Carrera
> -----Original Message-----
> From: International boundaries discussion list [mailto:INT-
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of George Huguet
> Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2004 5:36 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: archipelagic waters
>
> What is the history of the UNCLOS requirement for a minimum ratio of water
> to "land" in order for an island state to be entitled to draw archipelagic
> baselines?
>
> It is obvious that a maximum ratio is needed, but it seems counter-
> intuitive to me that Malta cannot draw archipelagic baselines, but Sao
> Tome and Principe can.
>
> My question is not why the minimum ratio is 1:1, but how the concept of a
> minimum ratio even occured to anyone.
>
> Were there certain island states which other negotiators specifically
> wanted to deny archipelagic status?
>
> Many thanks to anyone who can shed some light on this.
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