“Maldives now has a very clear boundary for issuing licenses on fisheries for enforcement action”

Maldives now has a very clear boundary for issuing licenses on fisheries for enforcement action, says Maldives Lead Counsel on the Delimitation of the maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius v Maldives) case Professor Payam Akhavan.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on Friday ruled that the Maldives will acquire a major sea-region, over the dispute concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

A press conference was held at sundown on Friday regarding this, where Professor Payam Akhavan, Maldives Lead Counsel on the Delimitation of the maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius v Maldives) case, and Professor Jean-Marc Thouvenin spoke to media regarding the judgement.

When asked by a RaajjeTV journalist on what the ITOLS judgement meant for the Maldives, Professor Payam stated that the judgement means Maldives now has a definite maritime boundary on the southern side of the country.

This consecutively introduces an element of certainty which, the professor said did not exist earlier.

This means that the Maldives now has a very clear boundary for issuing licenses on Fisheries for enforcement action of the fisheries laws, for exploration and exploitation in respect of marine resources, in respect of marine scientific research.

Professor Payam added that sea boundaries are different than land boundaries because people may go by boat and not see that exact line, however, he noted that now the Maldivian navy will have to produce maps which provide this very specific boundary, and that will introduce an element of certainty.

There is an area of about 95,000 square kilometers between the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago, which is not covered by 200 nautical miles.

Maldives in its final submissions requested the Special Chamber to adjudge and declare that the claim by Mauritius to a continental shelf beyond 200M from the base lines from which its territorial sea is measured should be dismissed on the basis that it is outside the jurisdiction of the Special Chamber and is inadmissible.

The ITLOS Special Chamber unanimously found that its jurisdiction to delimit the continental shelf between the Parties includes the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.

It was also unanimously found that in the circumstances of the present case, it is not in a position to determine the entitlement of Mauritius to the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the Northern Chagos Archipelago Region and decided that, consequently, it will not proceed to delimit the continental shelf between Mauritius and the Maldives beyond 200 nautical miles.