Dear List Members
Dr Cleverly's query raises an interesting
issue.
Leaving aside for the moment the question of the
boundary between State A and State B, and considering that the island and
the related LTE belong to the one coastal State, the LTE generates
the territorial sea to which it is fully entitled in accordance with the
provisions of Article 11 of the 1958 Convention on the Territorial Sea and
Contiguous Zone (CTSCZ).
Now consider the scenario whereby State B comes
into existence as a result of secession from State A. The question then
arises as to whether State A would lose sovereignty over the area of
territorial sea generated by the LTE, an area which was subject to
its sovereignty before the act of secession. Without making any
assumptions whatsoever about the processes that lead to the location of the
"agreed boundary", the territorial sea of State A must be measured from the
territorial sea baseline of State A. Likewise, the territorial sea of
State B must be measured from the territorial sea baseline of that
State. In this particular scenario, while the act of secession does not change the fundamental geographical
relationship between the LTE and the island, it certainly does change the legal
relationship under the provisions of Article 11, CTSCZ (and Article 13,
UNCLOS).
If my reasoning is correct, it would appear that
State A cannot claim territorial sea sovereignty measured from the LTE as
it does NOT satisfy the requirement that it lie wholly or partly within the
territorial sea limit as measured from the territorial sea baseline of State
A.
Regards
Brian Murphy
