A Study On The Determination Of Entitlements To The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles

The entitlements to continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles(hereinafter referred to "outer continental shelf")is a prerequisite for the delimitation of the outer continental shelf and the establishment of outer limits of outer continental shelf.However,from the existing international law and national practices and academic achievements,the problem of determination of entitlements to outer continental shelf,especially its standard and decider,is ambiguous and even controversial.This paper focuses on the determination of entitlements to outer continental shelf,through combing histories,case analysis and treaty interpretation in a number of ways,and is divided into four chapters.The first chapter,"interpretation of entitlements to outer continental shelf",through combing the development history of entitlements to continental shelf,comparing and analyzing the difference and link between entitlements and rights,and clarifying the bridge effect of entitlements to outer continental shelf to connect territorial sovereignty of coastal states and rights to continental shelf,sums up and extracts the exact meaning of entitlements to outer continental shelf.The second chapter,the criteria of entitlements to continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles,on the basis of introducing and comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the two existing representative doctrines,namely,"natural prolongation" and "outer edge of continental margin",combined with the interpretation of the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(hereinafter referred to"Convention")and the interpretation of the latest international judicial practices,putting forward and clarifying the "outer edge of territorial prolongation" hypothesis.The third chapter,"the decider of entitlements to continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles",through analyzing and comparing three existing national practices and their legal obstacles and conflicts,clarifying the serious conflicts between Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf(hereinafter referred to "CLCS")and the international judicial or arbitral organizations as a decider of entitlements to outer continental shelf,while the coastal state as the decider has a more legal basis and higher practical feasibility.The forth chapter,"Enlightenment to China",through the analysis of neighboring countries' submissions,putting forward China's strategies and looking forward to opening the new ideas about safeguarding the interests of China's outer continental shelf.On the basis of study,this paper notes that the entitlements to outer continental shelf actually is that the continental shelf entails more than 200 nautical miles from the baseline of the territorial sea and has sufficient evidence to support this legal fact.It is the basis of the right of the coastal State to enjoy the rights on the outer continental shelf and the direct reflection of enjoyment of territory sovereignty by the coastal State.Comparing "natural prolongation" with "outer edge of continental margin",the "outer edge of territory prolongation" is more suitable for determining the entitlements to outer continental shelf.The coastal state has ample legal basis and practical feasibility as the only decider of entitlements to outer continental shelf.To safeguard and maintain rights and interests over the outer continental shelf,China shall continue to act under the guidance of theory of "outer edge of territory prolongation" and regard the coastal States as the right decider for the determination of entitlements to the outer continental shelf,according to the actual geographical and geological conditions of maritime areas under and beyond China's jurisdiction.