The Seafloor High Issue in Article 76 of the LOS Convention: Some Views from the Perspective of Legal Interpretation

摘要

The three categories of the seafloor highs provided for in Article 76 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea should be interpreted from the legal perspective and in light of the principle of the natural prolongation. "Oceanic ridges of the deep ocean floor," which are not part of the natural prolongation of the land territory of the coastal state, are the submarine features that have no geomorphological continuity with the landmass of the coastal state. "Submarine elevations," which are not only part of the natural prolongation of the land territory of the coastal state but also the natural component of the continental margin, are those submarine features that have geomorphological as well as geological continuity with the landmass of the coastal state. "Submarine ridges," which are part of the natural prolongation of the land territory of the coastal state but not the natural component of the continental margin, are those submarine features that have geomorphological continuity with the landmass of the coastal state. There are some clear trends as well as obvious variances in the practice of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in this regard.