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22-511: The Maroua Declaration is a 1975 maritime boundary agreement between Cameroon and Nigeria . A question regarding the validity of the agreement arose during an International Court of Justice case that decided a boundary dispute between the two countries. The Maroua Declaration was signed on 1 June 1975 by Ahmadou Ahidjo , President of Cameroon , and Yakubu Gowon , the head of state of Nigeria in Maroua , Cameroon. The agreement extends

44-540: A differently configured boundary line, there is no dispute that a few small islands close to the North Korean coastline have remained jurisdiction of the United Nations since 1953. The map at the right shows the differing maritime boundary lines of the two Koreas. The ambits of these boundaries encompass overlapping jurisdictional claims. The explicit differences in the way the boundary lines are configured

66-726: A maritime boundary that previously existed between the two countries further into the Gulf of Guinea from the mouth of the Akwayafe River . In 2002, the International Court of Justice issued a judgment in a case between Cameroon and Nigeria on their longstanding boundary dispute . Nigeria argued that the Maroua Declaration was invalid and nonbinding because although the Nigerian head of state had signed it,

88-408: A multilateral treaty. Contemporary negotiations have produced tripoint and quadripoint determinations. For example, in the 1982 Australia–France Marine Delimitation Agreement , for the purposes of drawing the treaty's equidistant lines it was assumed that France has sovereignty over Matthew and Hunter Islands , a territory that is also claimed by Vanuatu . The northernmost point in the boundary

110-399: Is a legal concept in maritime boundary claims that a nation's maritime boundaries should conform to a median line that is equidistant from the shores of neighboring nations. The concept was developed in the process of settling disputes in which the borders of adjacent nations were located on a contiguous continental shelf : An equidistance line is one for which every point on the line

132-455: Is a line. The terms "frontier", "borderland" and "border" are zones of indeterminate width. Such areas form the outermost part of a country. Borders are bounded on one side by a national boundary. There are variations in the specific terminology of maritime boundary agreements which have been concluded since the 1970s. Such differences are less important than what is being delimited. Features that affect maritime boundaries include islands and

154-572: Is a tripoint with the Solomon Islands . The boundary runs in a roughly north–south direction and then turns and runs west–east until it almost reaches the 170th meridian east . The concept of maritime boundaries is a relatively new concept. The historical record is a backdrop for evaluating border issues. The evaluation of historic rights are governed by distinct legal regimes in customary international law, including research and analysis based on The study of treaties on maritime boundaries

176-737: Is equidistant from the nearest points on the baselines being used. The equidistance principle is a methodology that has been endorsed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea but predates that treaty and has been used by the Supreme Court of the United States , states, and nations to establish boundaries equitably. The equidistance principle represents one aspect of customary international law, but its importance

198-555: Is evaluated in light of other factors such as history: "Historic rights" or titles of some or another kind will acquire enhanced, rather than diminished, importance as a result of the narrowing of the 'physical' rather than the 'legal' sources of right. It is important to remember that, although historical claims were not successful in the Gulf of Maine case, the identification of a ' status quo ' or ' modus vivendi ' line in Tunisia–Libya

220-440: Is important as (a) as a source of general or particular international law; (b) as evidence of existing customary law; and (c) as evidence of the emerging development of custom. The development of "customary law" affects all nations. The attention accorded this subject has evolved beyond formerly-conventional norms like the three-mile limit . Multilateral treaties and documents describing the baselines of countries can be found on

242-478: Is shown in the map at the right. In a very small area, this represents a unique illustration of differences in mapping and delineation strategies. Violent clashes in these disputed waters include what are known as the first Yeonpyeong incident , the second Yeonpyeong incident , and the Bombardment of Yeonpyeong . Equidistance principle The equidistance principle , or principle of equidistance ,

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264-654: The Khawr Abd Allah waterway. Many disputes have been resolved through negotiations, but not all of them. Among the array of unsettled disputes, the maritime borders of the two Koreas in the Yellow Sea represent a visually stark contrast. A western line of military control between the two Koreas was unilaterally established by the United Nations Command in 1953. Although the North asserts

286-479: The 1805 Act of Congress that divided public lands by measurements as close as possible to "equidistant from those two corners which stand on the same line." One of the most notable historical events regarding equidistance is the Argument between Germany, Netherlands and Denmark. All three countries laid claim to a specific area within the ocean. Germany claimed that due to special circumstances they owned that land so

308-465: The agreement had not been ratified either by Parliament or any other governmental process. The ICJ held that under international law the declaration was valid and came into effect upon signing by the head of state. Maritime boundary Maritime boundaries exist in the context of territorial waters , contiguous zones , and exclusive economic zones ; however, the terminology does not encompass lake or river boundaries, which are considered within

330-506: The context of land boundaries. Some maritime boundaries have remained indeterminate despite efforts to clarify them. This is explained by an array of factors, some of which involve regional problems. The delineation or delimitation of maritime boundaries has strategic, economic and environmental implications (see maritime delimitation ). The terms boundary , frontier and border are often used as if they were interchangeable, but they are also terms with precise meanings. A boundary

352-564: The declaration of a baseline . The conditions under which a state may establish such baseline are described in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). A baseline of a country can be the low water line, a straight baseline (a line that encloses bays, estuaries, inland waters,...) or a combination of the two. Maritime spaces can be divided into the following groups based on their legal status: While many maritime spaces can be classified as belonging to

374-399: The same group, this does not imply that they all have the same legal regime. International straits and canals have their own legal status as well. The zones of maritime boundaries are expressed in concentric limits surrounding coastal and feature baselines. In the case of overlapping zones, the boundary is presumed to conform to the equidistance principle or it is explicitly described in

396-469: The submerged seabed of the continental shelf . The process of boundary delimitation in the ocean encompasses the natural prolongation of geological features and outlying territory . The process of establishing "positional" borders encompasses the distinction between previously resolved and never-resolved controversies. The limits of maritime boundaries are expressed in polylines and in polygon layers of sovereignty and control, calculated from

418-586: The three countries fought through the United Nations . Eventually the ICJ stepped in and held a trial regarding the topic. International law also refers to equidistance. For example, Article 6 of the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf explains: "Where the same continental shelf is adjacent to the territories of two or more States whose coasts are opposite each other, the boundary of

440-406: The two territories. Controversies about territorial waters tend to encompass two dimensions: (a) territorial sovereignty, which are a legacy of history; and (b) relevant jurisdictional rights and interests in maritime boundaries, which are mainly due to differing interpretations of the law of the sea. An example of this may be reviewed in the context of the ongoing Kuwait-Iraq maritime dispute over

462-545: The website of the United Nations. For example, the Australia–France Marine Delimitation Agreement establishes ocean boundaries between Australia and New Caledonia in the Coral Sea (including the boundary between Australia's Norfolk Island and New Caledonia). It consists of 21 straight-line maritime segments defined by 22 individual coordinate points forming a modified equidistant line between

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484-449: Was of decisive importance in confirming the equitableness of the first stage of delimitation. States will scrupulously avoid, more than ever, any appearance of acquiescence where acquiescence is not intended; prudent coordination can be expected between petroleum and mining ministries and the legal advisers of foreign ministries." — Highet, Keith. (1989). "Whatever became of natural prolongation." The United States used equidistance in

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