Judgment on Bangladesh/Myanmar Maritime Boundary
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Judgment on Bangladesh/Myanmar Maritime Boundary

At a public sitting held on 14th March 2012, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany, rendered its judgment in the dispute concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal (Bangladesh/Myanmar). The judgment was read by Judge José Luis Jesus, who is presiding over the tribunal in this case.

The dispute concerns the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal with respect to the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. It is the first case of the tribunal relating to the delimitation of maritime boundaries. Proceedings in the case were instituted before the Tribunal on 14th December 2009. Further to the filing of written pleadings by the parties, the hearing took place in September 2011.

In its judgment, the tribunal had to address a number of issues raised by the parties. Those included: the claim made by Bangladesh that the delimitation of the territorial sea had already been agreed by the parties in 1974, and the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf within 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. In addition, the tribunal had to deal with the request of Bangladesh that the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles limit be delimited, a request which was opposed by Myanmar. The Tribunal then had to decide whether it could and should exercise its jurisdiction in respect of the delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.

The full text of the judgment and of the declarations and dissenting and separate opinions appended thereto is available on the website of the tribunal.

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