jurisdictional intersections between different maritime zones, to finally reach the
environmental jurisdiction of coastal states on the continental shelf, its material
extent and scope. The remaining Chaps. 9 and 10, dealt with the second research
question, departing from a descriptive, panoramic view of the Brazilian ocean
governance edifice—its policies and agents—towards the qualitative analysis
Brazil’s marine environmental legal framework consistency with the law of the sea.
Throughout the monography, a few core theses emerged alongside several
incidental propositions which, if not entirely original, might contribute to the study
of the continental shelf regime. These conclusions are grouped in thematic blocks of
chapters, respecting the key-words referred to supra.
Chapters 2 and 3 placed the foundations of the work and dissected the general
legal regime of the continental shelf within and beyond 200 nm. At the outset, it was
noted that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea consists of an international
legally binding instrument which results from political tensions that marked international relations and the oceans between the end of World War II and the late
1970s. Such tensions were potentialized by historic events, such as the decolonization wave, calls for a just international order, and the realization of the oceans’
multiple dimensions—surface, depth, subsoil and airspace. The Convention marked
a shift from a dual-division of the oceans towards a multi-division, having codified
regimes of rights and duties applicable to each of those maritime spaces.
A vital regime to this investigation was the continental shelf one or, in other
words, “the international law of the continental shelf”, which has existed for
approximately 70 years—dating back to 1958, when the international community
negotiated the first Convention on the Continental Shelf. Prior to that, there was
mostly unilateral practice, each coastal state adopting different views on the definition, scope and width of the continental shelf. The CSC was then succeeded by
UNCLOS, which embodied substantial upgrades concerning the ocean seabed.
The main pillars of the “new” continental shelf regime were the natural prolongation (Art. 76 (1) UNCLOS), the principle of inherent entitlement of the coastal
state to the continental shelf (Art. 77 (3) UNCLOS), and the sovereign and exclusive
rights of the coastal state over the continental shelf for the purpose of its exploration
and exploitation of its resources (Art. 77 (1) and (2) UNCLOS). According to those
principles, coastal states exercise sovereign rights ab initio over the natural resources
of the submarine areas that extend beyond their territorial seas. Such rights do not
depend on any express proclamation, nor occupation of those submarine areas.
An important part of the new continental shelf regime is dedicated to the
possibility of coastal states delineating the outer limits of their continental shelves
beyond the default 200 nm. Here, the book provided an in-depth view not only of the
delineation procedure that precedes the international validation of outer continental
shelf claims, but also the challenges faced by the international organizations charged
with conducting and overseeing such procedure. The relevance of doing so lied on
the need to understand the main nuances of the continental shelf regime, in particular
the possibility of having different rules apply to the continental shelf within and
beyond 200 nm.
354
11 Conclusions
environmental jurisdiction of coastal states on the continental shelf, its material
extent and scope. The remaining Chaps. 9 and 10, dealt with the second research
question, departing from a descriptive, panoramic view of the Brazilian ocean
governance edifice—its policies and agents—towards the qualitative analysis
Brazil’s marine environmental legal framework consistency with the law of the sea.
Throughout the monography, a few core theses emerged alongside several
incidental propositions which, if not entirely original, might contribute to the study
of the continental shelf regime. These conclusions are grouped in thematic blocks of
chapters, respecting the key-words referred to supra.
Chapters 2 and 3 placed the foundations of the work and dissected the general
legal regime of the continental shelf within and beyond 200 nm. At the outset, it was
noted that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea consists of an international
legally binding instrument which results from political tensions that marked international relations and the oceans between the end of World War II and the late
1970s. Such tensions were potentialized by historic events, such as the decolonization wave, calls for a just international order, and the realization of the oceans’
multiple dimensions—surface, depth, subsoil and airspace. The Convention marked
a shift from a dual-division of the oceans towards a multi-division, having codified
regimes of rights and duties applicable to each of those maritime spaces.
A vital regime to this investigation was the continental shelf one or, in other
words, “the international law of the continental shelf”, which has existed for
approximately 70 years—dating back to 1958, when the international community
negotiated the first Convention on the Continental Shelf. Prior to that, there was
mostly unilateral practice, each coastal state adopting different views on the definition, scope and width of the continental shelf. The CSC was then succeeded by
UNCLOS, which embodied substantial upgrades concerning the ocean seabed.
The main pillars of the “new” continental shelf regime were the natural prolongation (Art. 76 (1) UNCLOS), the principle of inherent entitlement of the coastal
state to the continental shelf (Art. 77 (3) UNCLOS), and the sovereign and exclusive
rights of the coastal state over the continental shelf for the purpose of its exploration
and exploitation of its resources (Art. 77 (1) and (2) UNCLOS). According to those
principles, coastal states exercise sovereign rights ab initio over the natural resources
of the submarine areas that extend beyond their territorial seas. Such rights do not
depend on any express proclamation, nor occupation of those submarine areas.
An important part of the new continental shelf regime is dedicated to the
possibility of coastal states delineating the outer limits of their continental shelves
beyond the default 200 nm. Here, the book provided an in-depth view not only of the
delineation procedure that precedes the international validation of outer continental
shelf claims, but also the challenges faced by the international organizations charged
with conducting and overseeing such procedure. The relevance of doing so lied on
the need to understand the main nuances of the continental shelf regime, in particular
the possibility of having different rules apply to the continental shelf within and
beyond 200 nm.
354
11 Conclusions