Development Trend Of Continental Shelf Demarcation Principle

Because of the uncertainty and the important position of continental shelf in the provisions of’Convention on the Continental Shelf’and the’United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’, the international community for the delimitation of the continental shelf has been controversial. As can be seen from the international judicial practice, in the modern international law, the fairness which is the primacy of the principle in the continental shelf delimitation, is the basic principle in the delimitation of the continental shelf, and gradually moving towards specific and standardization. The principle of natural extension and equidistance/median line of delimitation of the continental shelf is just to achieve a fair outcome. The Qatar Bahrain case in2001determined a "fair-the relevant circumstances" rule, and this basic model became the fixed pattern in the delimitation of the continental shelf. Although the principle of equidistance/median line is adopted in the delimitation of continental shelf, but it is only a specific method to protect the principle of fairness, and it does not have the status of customary international law. The principle of natural extension was established as the basic principle in the delimitation of the continental shelf in the North Sea Continental Shelf case in1969, with the status of customary international law. Although the position has declined since then, but it is not from the stage of history. The principle of nature extension which laid the foundation for the rights of the continental shelf, is still an important principle in the delimited of the continental shelf. The best result of the delimitation of the continental shelf between China and South Korea is to reach an understanding between the two countries through negotiations in determining the continental shelf between the two countries through bilateral or multilateral treaty. When political approach does not work, the two countries should strengthen geological exploration, collect more data to solve the problem in accordance with international proceedings. The two countries should regard the principle of fairness as the basic principle, the principle of natural extension and the principle of equidistant/median line as the auxiliary principle in the delimitation of the continental shelf, to obtain a fair delimitation results.