The “Intertwined” Relationship and Deadlock Between Delimitation of the Continental Shelf Beyond 200 nm and the Delineation of Its Outer Limits

Abstract

This article examines the legal relationship and practical challenges between “delimitation” and “delineation” within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the law of the sea. Through an analysis of rulings by the ITLOS and the contrasting stance adopted by the ICJ, it points out that international judicial bodies have yet to clarify the relationship between the two. Although Articles 76(10) and 83(1) of the UNCLOS treat the two as independent processes in form, in practice they are deeply intertwined due to overlapping entitlements, geographical foundations, and procedural interactions. To break the deadlock—where coastal States are trapped in a cycle of being unable to achieve successful delimitation without first delineating outer limits, a situation exacerbated by Paragraph 5(a) of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf—this article assesses the interim solution proposed by scholars, and ultimately proposes a fundamental solution: reforming Paragraph 5(a) by recommending that the CLCS be empowered to conduct preliminary technical considerations of all submissions.