The Application Of The Equitable Principle In The Delimitation Of Continental Shelf

With the development of technology in marine exploration, every country requires more marine rights. Truman Proclamation in 1945 marks the fight for the continental shelf all over the world. Before Truman Proclamation first proposed its legal concept, continental shelf was just used in Geography. At the same time, the United States also claimed that the continental shelf should be delimitated by negotiation or equitable principle. Due to the complex geographical distribution of continental shelf in neighboring countries, it becomes more difficult to the delimit it. Which principle should been used to the demarcation of continental shelf? The countries have different opinions out of the concern of own benefits. These principles mainly include the equitable principle, the equidistance/special circumstance rule and the proportional principle. Now, there are lots of problems which have not been resolved. The controversy over the issue of the delimitation principle of the continental shelf focuses on the legal relationship of these principles. In our country, intense controversies on the demarcation of continental shelf still exist in the yellow sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea. This paper mainly studies the demarcation of the East China Sea’s continental shelf.Continental shelf was once a concept of geography. Its legal concept was first mentioned in the Truman Proclamation and equitable principle was first put forward in it by the United States. The first chapter of this paper contains the introduction of continental shelf. A generally accepted view of continental shelf is that the continental shelf is the natural extension of the land territory of countries. The controversy over the delimitation of the continental shelf arises from the increase in marine exploration technology, resulting in different claims by different countries over neighboring ocean areas. This chapter also introduces the concept of the equitable principle and its system.In the second chapter, the thesis discussed mainly the legal status of the equitable principle. Firstly, the equitable principle has been regarded as a customary rule. Customary rules are “some cases that have been accepted as law”. So if there are no state practices, there are no customary rules. Based on numbers of cases about the demarcation of continental shelf and state practices, the equitable principle can be seen as a customary rule. To prove the point, this thesis discussed the legal relationship between the equitable principle and the equidistance/special circumstance rule. It is generally believed that the equitable principle is the fundamental principle, while the equidistance/special circumstance rule is just a method.Fundamental status of the equitable principle was not only written in the “United Nations Convention on Low of the Sea”(UNCLOS), but also embodied by the judicial precedents in international court and arbitration. The third chapter analyzes the interpretation and acknowledgement of the equitable principle in different countries and international court.China should also apply equitable principle in delimiting continental shelf. There are so many tough issues in the China’s dispute over continental shelf that the equitable principle must be applied, which is most favorable to China. The last chapter introduces the geographical situation of East Sea Continent Shelf in. In addition, this thesis discussed the focal point about continent shelf of the East China Sea and the status of Diaoyu Islands and Okinawa ocean trough in delimiting continental shelf. Finally, the author comes to the conclusion that the application of the equitable principle is reasonable.