Relevant Coasts and Relevant Area in the Maritime Delimitation of the EEZ and Continental Shelf

Abstract This article examines the development of case law concerning the criteria determining the relevant coasts and the relevant areas in delimitation of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. There is a discrepancy in the jurisprudence over whether the relevant area is determined by assessing the overlaps of “seaward extension,” “projections,” or “potential entitlement,” and this undermines the transparency of the process and the predictability of the result. There is also a debate over whether identification of the relevant area shall be based on “frontal” or “radial” projections. This article tracks this jurisprudence, questions why there is a discrepancy, and critically analyzes the consequences of these decisions in the light of the principle of equity.