The Adjacent Waters Boundaries (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (SI 2002/791) is a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom government, defining the boundaries of

internal waters According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a nation's internal waters include waters on the side of the baseline of a nation's territorial waters that is facing toward the land, except in archipelagic states. It includes wa ...

territorial sea Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...

, and British Fishing Limits adjacent to Northern Ireland. It was introduced in accordance with the

Northern Ireland Act 1998 __NOTOC__ The Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule. It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, establi ...

, which established the devolved

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

Defining jurisdictions

The

territorial waters Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...

defined come under the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

Northern Ireland law The law of Northern Ireland is the legal system of statute and common law operating in Northern Ireland since the partition of Ireland established Northern Ireland as a distinct jurisdiction in 1921. Before 1921, Northern Ireland was part of ...

, and are also used for defining the area of operation of the

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive (Irish language, Irish: ''Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Executive'') is the devolution, devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branc ...

(including the

Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA; initials pronounced as 'Dare-aa') ( Irish: ''An Roinn Talmhaíochta, Comhshaoil agus Gnóthaí Tuaithe''; Ulster Scots: ''Depairtment o' Fairmin, Environment an' Kintra Mat ...

) and other

agencies and

public bodies A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, but they are corporations owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...

. The territorial waters defined as ''not'' being Northern Ireland waters come under the jurisdiction of either

Scottish law Scots law () is the List of country legal systems, legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different histori ...

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

. Because the order defines the territorial limits of the three separate

jurisdictions Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple levels ...

, it comprises a piece of

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

in the

constitution of the United Kingdom The constitution of the United Kingdom comprises the written and unwritten arrangements that establish the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a political body. Unlike in most countries, no official attempt has been made to Co ...

Northern Ireland waters

Northern Ireland waters is a colloquial term which can refer to different sea areas, including: *

Internal waters According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a nation's internal waters include waters on the side of the baseline of a nation's territorial waters that is facing toward the land, except in archipelagic states. It includes wa ...

and

adjacent to Northern Ireland. ("Northern Ireland" as defined in the

) * British Fishing Limits adjacent to Northern Ireland. ("The Northern Ireland zone" as defined in the

) * The UK continental shelf limits adjacent to Northern Ireland. (Part of the "Northern Ireland offshore marine region" as defined in the

Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (c. 23) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates "a new system of marine management". Provisions Marine Management Organisation Section 1(1) creates the Marine Management Organi ...

)

Application

The Order defines the maritime border with Ireland.

Political impact

The Order was referred to when Ireland made a claim for an area near Scandinavian countries' territorial waters.{{Cite journal , last=Symmons , first=Clive R. , date=2007-02-24 , title=The Irish Partial Submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in 2005: A Precedent for Future Such Submissions in the Light of the "Disputed Areas" Procedures of the Commission? , url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00908320600800937 , journal=Ocean Development & International Law , language=en , volume=37 , issue=3–4 , pages=299–317 , doi=10.1080/00908320600800937 , issn=0090-8320, url-access=subscription

References

External links