(English version) Australia Seas and Submerged Lands (Territorial Sea Baseline) Proclamation 2016

  • Summary

This legal document contains Australia's Seas and Submerged Lands (Territorial Sea Baseline) Proclamation of 10 March 2016.

This Proclamation provides the definition, legal basis, and coordinates constituting the territorial sea straight baselines for the mainland of Australia, the mainland of Tasmania, islands off the coast of the States or the Northern Territory, and the four historic bays (Anxious, Encounter, Lacepede, Rivoli) as provided under Article 7 of UNCLOS.

This Proclamation excludes certain islands comprised within the State of Queensland, which were provided in Australia's Proclamation of Outer Limits 1983

by Tran Nguyen Quan

(English version) Australia Seas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation of 10 March 2016

  • Summary

This legal document contains Australia's Seas and Submerged Lands (Historic Bays) Proclamation of 10 March 2016.

In this Proclamation, Australia declares that there are four bays that are categorized as historic bay. They are Anxious Bay, Encounter Bay, Lacepede Bay, and Rivoli Bay. The specific coordinates constituting the straight lines (group of straight lines) that make the "sea-ward limits" (straight baseline enclosing the bays) of each bay are listed in Sections 7, 8, 9, and 10 respectively.

This Proclamation. is made under paragraph 8(a) of the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973. This Proclamation of 2016 also repeals an earlier version of it promulgated in 2006.

The specific basepoints constituting the straight baselines are listed in Part 2 of the Schedule 2 of Australia Seas and Submerged Lands (Territorial Sea Baseline) Proclamation 10 March 2016

by Tran Nguyen Quan

(English version) Australia Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973, as amended by the Maritime Legislation Amendment Act 1994

  • Summary

This legal document contains Australia's Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973, as amended by the Maritime Legislation Amendment Act 1994. This amended act provides information mainly related to term definitions, interpretation, and other regulations regarding the sovereignty and/or sovereign rights of Australia as a coastal state in its territorial sea, contiguous zone, EEZ, and continental shelf.

by Tran Nguyen Quan

(English) Australia Proclamation of the inner limits (the baseline), 4 February 1983, pursuant to section 7 of the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973

  • Summary

This legal document contains the English version of Australia's Proclamation of the inner limits (the baseline) of 1983, pursuant to section 7 of the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973, promulgated on 4 February 1983. The documents include the term definition and regulations regarding the definition of the basepoints, territorial sea baseline, and internal water of Australia, including the mainland of Australia, the State of Tasmania, and islands off the coast of the States and the Northern Territory. Both low-water baseline and straight baseline are used as stated in the document.

Specific coordinates constituting the baseline of the three areas are mentioned above are listed in Tables 1, 2, and 3 respectively.

by Tran Nguyen Quan

(English version) Australia Continental Shelf (Living Natural Resources) Act 1968-1973

  • Summary

This legal document contains Australia’s Continental Shelf (Living Natural Resources) Act 1968-1973. This Act includes laws and provisions mostly regarding the term definitions. regulations, and penalties for violations regarding the matters of natural resources in the continental shelf and water columns there-above of Australia and its external territories (Norfolk Island, the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Island, and Coral Sea Islands Territory).

by Tran Nguyen Quan

(English version) Solomon Islands Legal Notice No. 41 of 1979: Declaration of Archipelagic Baselines

  • Summary

This legal document contains Solomon Islands’ Legal Notice No. 41 of 1979: Declaration of Archipelagic Baselines (The Delimitation of Marine Waters Act (No. 32 of 1978)), promulgated in 1979.

This Legal Notice provides specific coordinates that constitute the straight baseline that determines the outermost limit of Solomon Islands' archipelagic water and the innermost limits of Solomon Islands' territorial sea of the archipelagos of Solomon Islands mentioned in sections 4(2) of Act No.32 of 1978. There are three areas included in this Legal Notice, which are the main group archipelago, the Ontong Java group archipelago. and the Duff Islands archipelago.

by Tran Nguyen Quan

(English version) Solomon Islands Delimitation of Marine Waters Act, 1978 (Act No. 32 of 21 December 1978)

  • Summary

This legal document contains Solomon Islands' Delimitation of Marine Waters Act, 1978 (Act No. 32 of 21 December 1978) promulgated in 1978. This Act includes, inter alia, the definition of, the demarcation of, the legal characteristics of, and regulations regarding the internal water, archipelagic water, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf of Solomon Islands and the rights and responsibility of Solomon Islands as well as other states in the mentioned maritime zones of Solomon Islands.

Notably, regarding the delimitation of the territorial sea, this Act specifies that as the median line between Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea is less than 12 nm from each state's territorial sea baseline, the territorial sea of Solomon Islands in the said area "shall be those declared by the Minister by order published in the Gazette." Moreover, this Act also clarifies that Solomon Islands opts for the use of median line for the delimitation of EEZ with adjacent/opposite states.

Specific coordinates constituting the straight baselines that determine the outermost limit of Solomon Islands' archipelagic water and the innermost limits of Solomon Islands' territorial sea of the archipelagos of Solomon Islands are provided in Solomon Islands' Legal Notice No.41 of 1979. 

by Tran Nguyen Quan

(English version) New Zealand Continental Shelf Order 2018, 13 August 2018

  • Summary

This legal document contains New Zealand's Continental Shelf Order 2018, promulgated on 13 August 2018. This order delineates the outer limit of New Zealand's Continental Shelf that has been recommended by the UNCLCS under Article 76(8) of UNCLOS. Specific coordinates constituting the boundary of New Zealand's Continental Shelf are provided in the order.

by Tran Nguyen Quan

(English version) New Zealand Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone Act No.28 of 1977 as amended by Act No. 146 of 1980

  • Summary

This legal document contains New Zealand Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone Act 1977, as amended by Act No. 146 of 1980. This Act has four parts. The opening part commences the Act and includes the interpretation of terms. Part I is about New Zealand's territorial sea and its baseline as well as related regulations. Part II includes the definition of New Zealand's Exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and regulations regarding fisheries activities. Part III provides other miscellaneous provisions.

Notably. within the interpretation of terms in the opening part and except for the purposes of part II and section 29 of Part, III this Act interpret "New Zealand" as including the Ross Dependency.

by Tran Nguyen Quan

(English version) South Korea Exclusive Economic Zone Act No. 5151, Promulgated on 8 August 1996

  • Summary

This legal document contains South Korea Exclusive Economic Zone Act No. 5151, promulgated on 8 August 1996. This Act, in conformity with the 1982 UNCLOS, claims a 200-nautical mile EEZ measured from the baseline mentioned in Article 2 of the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Act . This Act also includes the sovereign rights, jurisdiction, and other rights of the ROK in their EEZ as well as the rights and duties of other states within the ROK's EEZ.

Notably, while Article 2.2 implies that the EEZ delimitation with states with adjacent or oppositie coast shall be agreed based on international law, Article 5.2 states that "The rights of the Republic of Korea in the exclusive economic zone ... shall not be exercised in the area of the sea beyond the [equidistant] median line between the Republic of Korea and the State concerned. This implies that the preferred delimitation regime of the ROK is the method of equidistance. Nevertheless, this method has not been ruled as a customary international law as in the case of the North Sea continental shelf delimitation/

by Tran Nguyen Quan