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| II. | Substantive International Law - Second Part |
| 2. | LAW OF THE SEA |
| 2.2. | Determination of Maritime Boundaries |
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Case Concerning Sovereignty over
Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan
(Indonesia v. Malaysia)
Judgment of 17 December 2002
[p. Decl. Oda] It is important to keep in mind that sovereignty over two tiny, uninhabited islands, on the one hand, and those islands’ influence on the delimitation of the continental shelf, on the other, are two quite different matters.
Though Malaysia has now been awarded sovereignty over the islands, the impact of the Court’s Judgment on the delimitation of the continental shelf - which has been the leading issue in the negotiations between the two States since the 1960s - should be considered from a different angle. Today, the rule concerning the delimitation of the continental shelf is set out in Article 83 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea calling for “an equitable solution”. The main question remains how “equitable” considerations apply to these tiny islands for the purpose of
the delimitation of the continental shelf.
In conclusion, I submit that the present Judgment determining sovereignty over the islands does not necessarily have a direct bearing on the delimitation of the continental shelf, which has been a subject of dispute between the two States since the late 1960s.
