Rachel Simonin

Case Brief #4
March 14, 2008
I. Title of Case:
Continental Shelf (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya v. Malta) ICJ 1985 #GL51
II. Facts or Situation:
a. Decided June 3, 1985
b. The Libyan Arab Republic and the Republic of Malta were involved in a dispute
regarding the delimitation of the area of continental shelf between them. Libya believes that the
continental shelf belongs to the them because of natural prolongation of the land into the Sea,
and Malta believes the continental shelf belongs to them because of its location from their coast.
To settle the dispute, they decided on a Special Agreement which would allow the International
Court of Justice to come up with a resolution. Although both parties agree that the ICJ should
decide on what principles and rules of international law are applicable in this case, Malta
believes that the ICJ should be able to implement the rules by drawing a median line (to figure
out the delimitation of the continental shelf). Libya holds that it is not the courts job to draw the
delimitation line; however, the court agrees with Malta and determines that the Special
Agreement does not suspend them from indicating a median line.
III. Questions or Issues:
a. What principles and rules of international law are applicable in this dispute?
b. Should the court examine the rift-zone of the continental shelf when deciding the
delimitation line?
c. Should the method of equidistance be used when deciding the delimitation line?
IV. Decision:
a. The ICJ decided that they have the ability to determine what principles and rules to
uphold, and also have the right to establish the delimitation line. The court decides to look at the
1982 United Nations Convention on the Law and Sea because both States agreed to it and signed
it. Even though the Convention has not been put into force yet, the ICJ comes to the conclusion
that the main determining factor of the delimitation line will be distance. The Convention allows
the courts to use their discretion in determining the median line.
b. The court decided against Libyas claim of a rift-zone because the law (coming from
the 1982 United Nations Convention of Law and Sea) allows a State to claim continental shelf up
to as far as 200 miles from its coast. The rift-zone cannot be considered a natural boundary.
c. The court decided against Maltas proposition of the method of equidistance when
determining the delimitation line. The court decides to use a different method to draw up the
median line and takes into account the lengths of the Parties coasts. The court decides not to
take into account the Maltese island of Filfla to eliminate disproportionate effects and adjusts the
median line accordingly.
V. Principles:

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a. The ICJ used the principle of the distance and the idea of an economic zone when
deciding the delimitation of the continental shelf. The court uses Article 76 of the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law and Sea. This article states that distance does matter and the
continental shelf can not exceed a certain amount of nautical miles from the territorial sea. Even
though the Convention has not yet entered into force, both States signed it. This Convention also
gave the court discretion to determine a way to draw the median line and end the dispute (1982
Convention).
b. The 1982 Convention does not mention any other way to determine the delimitation of
continental shelves other than distance. A rift-zone was not mentioned.
c. Equidistance was not used because the 1982 Convention gives the court the right to use
discretion and apply principles and rules to determine the median line. The court decided that
the method of equidistance would not be fair and adjusted the median line based on coast length,
continental shelf distance, etc.
VI. Conclusion:
a. This case relates to international law because Libya and Malta decided to come to a
Special Agreement, allowing the ICJ to use principles and rules of international law to resolve
the dispute.
VII. Bibliography:
Continental Shelf (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya v. Malta) ICJ 1985 #GL51
1982 United Nations Convention on the Law and Sea. Full document available:
http://fletcher.tufts.edu/multi/texts/BH825.txt