| China has a long coastline and abundant marine resources,but at the same time,our surrounding seas are also dangerous,and there are many maritime territorial disputes with neighbouring countries.As an important method in maritime delimitation,equidistance/ relevant circumstance delimitation approach has been playing an increasingly important role in international practice,and has become the mainstream approach in maritime delimitation.The method of equidistance/ relevant circumstance has three main steps.The first step is to construct a temporary equidistance line,the second step is to consider the relevant circumstances and finally exam its proportionality.The method of equidistance/ relevant circumstance has been studied in some domestic and foreign works.This paper focuses on the "relevant circumstance",trying to summarize and sort out the relevant situation in international practice.Since equidistance lines are relatively fixed and mecha nical in delimitation,it is only "relevant circumstances" that can influence the demarcation result and adjust the equidistance line,so the ?relevant circumstance? is the key point of equidistance/ relevant circumstance delimitation method.relevant circumstance plays an important role in the equidistance/ relevant circumstance method and can be broadly divided into geographical and non-geographical factors,Geographical factors can be divided into six categories: coastal structure,proportionality,baselines,islands,geology and geomorphology,and third countries;Non-geographical factors can be classified into six categories: economy,acts of the States concerned,historical rights,defence and security,navigation and the environment.The application of equidistance/ relevant circumstance delimitation methods in maritime delimitation is more and more extensive,but the application of relevant circumstances is highly subjective and depends on the discretion of international judicial bodies in specific cases. |
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