491 



Justice, to insert in the record following the statement I am making 

 its determination of the legal right of a department of the Federal 

 Govermnent to make an agreement that violates a law of the United 

 States without first coming back to Congress and at least getting, not 

 its acquiescence because the Executive rarely does that any more, but 

 at least putting us on notice that the law is going to be violated. 



Will you gentlemen do that because w-e have to aiisw^er to our con- 

 stituency, you gentlemen do not. You are not elected, we are, and we 

 have to answer these things. You gentlemen can just say, "Well, it 

 happened.'- Will you not do that for us ? 



Mr. Pollack. We w^ill be glad to. 



Mr. Pelly. I think it should be pointed out when we reported out 

 the bill from this committee which was subsequently passed by Con- 

 gress and signed by the President, there was an exception concerning 

 the continuation of traditional fishing within the 12-mile zone as may 

 be recognized by the United States. 



Mr. Lexnon. I am recalling off the top of my head and that is un- 

 doubtedly the explanation. But until such time as we get a sanitized 

 version of this from State, it is difficult to explain because the people 

 have the same impression I gave you a few minutes ago. 



Mr. Keinecke. Mr. Chairinan, I would like to ask these gentlemen 

 also to advise the committee in the same report as to why they are will- 

 ing to negotiate to the extent just described with the Soviets and yet 

 have not seen fit to start similar negotiations to protect the life and 

 property of our own citizens off the coast of South America. 



Mr. Lennon. They can answer that too for the record. 



(The information follows :) 



U.S. Rights on the Continental Shelf 



The question has been raised as to how far out from shore United States rights 

 extend under the Convention on the Continental Shelf. 



Article I of the Convention on the Continental Shelf provides : 



"For the purpose of these articles, the term 'continental shelf is used as refer- 

 ring (a) to the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast 

 but outside the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 meters or, beyond that 

 limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation 

 of the natural resources of the said areas ; (b) to the seabed and subsoil of similar 

 submarine areas adjacent to the coasts of islands." 



Under this definition it is clear that the continental shelf, over which the coastal 

 state exercises sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting its 

 natural resources, extends at the minimum to that distance from shore at which 

 the superjacent waters are not deeper than 200 meters. It is equally clear under 

 the Convention that the continental shelf may extend some further distance if 

 the depth of the superjacent waters still admits of the exploitation of the na- 

 tural resources, so long as the areas in question are still "adjacent to the coast." 

 The meaning of adjacency is not altogether clear in this context, and the negotiat- 

 ing history of the Convention does not add greater precision. At the time the 

 Convention was drafted it was recognized that the definition of the continental 

 shelf provided a measure of elasticity and vagueness. However, the possible dis- 

 advantages of this lack of precision do not seem to have been of particular con- 

 cern, apparently because it was assumed that exploitation at depths very much 

 greater than 200 meters was still a number of years away. 



The negotiating history of the Convention does make clear that it was not 

 contemplated that the continental shelf would extend to midpoint in the ocean 

 even if exploitation at all depths should become possible. Presumably it was 

 thought that coastal states would be entitled to sovereign rights for the purpose 

 of exploration and exploitation beyond the 200 meter depth so far as the inter- 

 national community was prepared to accept coastal jurisdiction as appropriate. 

 This seems to be the significance of the term "adjacent." 



