The ''Case concerning maritime delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v Ukraine)''
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ICJ 3was a decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). On September 16, 2004, Romania brought its case to the court after unsuccessful bilateral negotiations. On February 3, 2009, the court handed down its verdict, establishing a maritime boundary including the
continental shelf and exclusive economic zones for Romania and Ukraine.
Facts
In 1997, Romania and Ukraine signed a treaty in which both states "reaffirm that the existing
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
between them is inviolable and therefore, they shall refrain, now and in future, from any attempt against the border, as well as from any demand, or act of, seizure and usurpation of part or all the territory of the Contracting Party".
[The Romania-Ukraine Treaty (1997) is available in Romanian and English in the materials submitted by Romania to the ]International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
br>
and it is available in Ukrainian from the Ukrainian parliament websit
Both sides agreed that if no resolution on maritime borders could be reached within two years, either side could seek a final ruling from the International Court of Justice. Ten million tonnes of
petroleum, oil and a billion cubic meters of
natural gas deposits were discovered under the seabed nearby.
BP and
Royal Dutch/Shell
Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
signed prospect contracts with Ukraine, and
Total contracted with Romania. The Austrian
OMV
OMV (formerly abbreviation for Österreichische Mineralölverwaltung Aktiengesellschaft ('' en, Austrian Mineral Oil Administration Stock Company'')) is an Austrian multinational integrated oil, gas and petrochemical company which is headquart ...
(the owner of Romania's largest oil company,
Petrom) signed a contract with
Naftogas of Ukraine and
Chornomornaftogaz
russian: Черноморнефтегаз
, native_name_lang = ru
, romanized_name =
, former type =
, type = State unitary enterprise
, traded_as =
, industry = Oil and gas
, fate =
, prede ...
to participate in an auction of concession rights to the area.
Because of its location,
Snake Island affected the maritime boundary between the two countries. If Snake Island was an
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
, its
continental shelf area would be considered Ukrainian waters. If it was an
islet
An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...
, in accordance with
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
, the maritime boundary between Romania and Ukraine would not take it into consideration. Romania claimed that Ukraine was developing Snake Island to prove it was an island, rather than an islet.
In 2007, Ukraine founded a settlement,
Bile, in Snake Island for the aforementioned purposes.
Court hearings
On 16 September 2004, Romania brought a case against Ukraine to the International Court of Justice, as part of a dispute over the maritime boundary between the two states in the Black Sea, and claimed that Snake island had no socioeconomic significance. Islands are generally considered when boundaries are delimited by the states themselves or by a third party, such as the ICJ. Depending on individual circumstances, islands may theoretically have full, partial or no effect on determinations of entitlement to maritime areas.
However, in practice, even islets are often respected in maritime delimitation. For example,
Aves Island was considered in the
United States – Venezuela Maritime Boundary Treaty
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
despite its small size and the fact that it was uninhabited. Most states do not distinguish between islands, under Article 121(3) of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 c ...
, claim the shelf as an
EEZ for all of their islands. Examples include the UK's
Rockall
Rockall () is an uninhabitable granite islet situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom claims that Rockall lies within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and is part of its territory, but this claim is not recognised by Ireland. ...
, Japan's
Okinotorishima
, or Parece Vela, is a coral reef with two rocks enlarged with tetrapod-cement structures. It is administered by Japan with a total shoal area of and land area . Its dry land area is mostly made up by three concrete encasings and there is a ...
, the US's
Hawaiian Islands and a number of uninhabited islands along the equator and France's
Clipperton and other islands.
Decisions by international courts, tribunals and other third-party dispute-resolution bodies have been less uniform. Although under Article 121(3), rocks are taken into account in delimiting maritime boundaries, they may be overlooked, discounted or
enclaved if they have an inequitable distorting effect in light of their size and location. Even if such islands are not discounted, their influence on the delimitation may be minimal. Therefore, existing decisions have not reached the level of uniformity necessary for a rule of law.
Until this dispute, there had been no third-party international review of a particular feature's status as an Article 121(3) rock or Article 121(2) island, and the ICJ's decision was difficult to predict. If it declared Snake Island an island, in delimiting the maritime zones, the ICJ could consider "special" or "relevant" circumstances and give Snake Island full, partial or no effect on the boundary. On September 19, 2008, the ICJ closed its public hearing.
Judgment
The court delivered its judgment on February 3, 2009, dividing the Black Sea with a line between the claims of each country.
Although under Article 121(3), rocks are taken into account in delimiting maritime boundaries, they may be overlooked, discounted or
enclaved if they have an inequitable distorting effect in light of their size and location. Even if such islands are not discounted, their influence on the delimitation may be minimal.
On the Romanian side, the ICJ found that the landward end of the Sulina dyke, not the manmade end, should be the basis for the
equidistance principle
The equidistance principle, or principle of equidistance, 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 ...
. The court noted that a dyke has a different function from a port, and only harbour works form part of the coast.
On the Ukrainian side, the court found that Snake Island did not form part of Ukraine's coastal configuration, explaining that "to count
nakeIsland as a relevant part of the coast would amount to grafting an extraneous element onto Ukraine's coastline; the consequence would be a judicial refashioning of Geography". The ICJ concluded that Snake Island "should have no effect on the delimitation in this case, other than that stemming from the role of the 12-nautical-mile arc of its territorial sea".
While the judgment drew a line that was equitable for both parties, Romania received nearly 80% of the disputed area, allowing it to exploit a significant but undetermined portion of an estimated 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas deposits and 15 million tonnes of oil under the seabed.
However, according to UN International Court, Ukrainian commissioner
Volodymyr Vasylenko
Volodymyr Andriyovych Vasylenko ( uk, Володи́мир Андрі́йович Василе́нко; birth: January 16, 1937, Kiev, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian diplomat who has twice served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukrain ...
, nearly all the oil and gas reserves are concentrated in the seabed that went to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President
The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010.
As an informal leader of th ...
considered the ruling "just and final" and hoped that it would open "new opportunities for further fruitful cooperation in all sectors of the
bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Romania".
Likewise, Romanian Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu said his country had “many reasons to be satisfied by this ruling”, and Romanian President Traian Basescu said the verdict was "a major success for
omania'sForeign Ministry."
See also
*
Bystroye Canal
The Deepwater Navigation Course "Danube – Black Sea" is a deep-water canal in the Danube Delta that runs through the Danube Delta distributaries Chilia, Old Istambul and "Bystroe". Through most of its length it coincides with the R ...
*
List of International Court of Justice cases
The list of International Court of Justice cases includes contentious cases and advisory opinions brought to the International Court of Justice since its creation in 1946. Forming a key part of international law, 181 cases have been entered onto ...
*
Romania–Ukraine relations
References
Sources
Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine): A Commentaryby Alex Oude Elferink, 27 Mar 2009, The Hague Justice Portal
* Coalter G. Lathrop (July 22, 2009) "Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine)".
American Journal of International Law
''The American Journal of International Law'' is an English-language scholarly journal focusing on international law and international relations. It is published quarterly since 1907 by the American Society of International Law (ASIL).
The ''Jo ...
, Vol. 103.
*
{{Foreign relations of Ukraine
2009 in international relations
2009 in case law
2009 in Romania
2009 in Ukraine
February 2009 events in Europe
International Court of Justice cases
Territorial disputes of Ukraine
Territorial disputes of Romania
Territorial evolution of Romania
Maritime history of Romania
Romania–Ukraine relations
Romania–Ukraine border
Snake Island (Ukraine)
Disputed waters
History of the Black Sea