417 



its ocean program in a few years. The U.S. representative, Dr. Richard Gyer, 

 Vice- Chairman of the U.S. Marine Sciences Commission, reviewed the Com- 

 mission's recently released report. Senator Claiborne Pell, (R.I.) Chairman of 

 the Senate Sub-Committee and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, 

 pleaded for international cooperation in ocean space to prevent using the ocean 

 bottom for the emplacement of advanced weapons. Sir John Foster, leader of the 

 British group for world government, agreeing with Senator Pell that there should 

 be international control over the seabed, proposed that licensing of its use should 

 be controlled by some worldwide organization rather than governments. In general 

 the papers were of good quality and many of them have been widely reported in the 

 press . 



PETROLEUM OFFSHORE 

 Recent Court Decisions 



The World Court in The Hague has recently ruled that the equidistance 

 principle of determining rights to the Continental Shelf for countries facing each 

 other, as in the North Sea, is not necessarily a rule of customary international 

 law, despite its adoption in the United Nations Convention on the Continental Shelf. 

 It rather establishes that such offshore boundaries should be negotiated in accord- 

 ance with equitable principles. Germany, which did not sign the Convention, has 

 claimed that it should be entitled to more than the 8, 900 square miles of Continental 

 Shelf in the North Sea. Neighboring Denmark and The Netherlands received some 

 23,200 square miles, because their coast lines are convex rather than concave as 

 is the case in Germany, which feels it should receive a larger portion of the Con- 

 tinental Shelf. 



The Court set out certain guidelines to be followed in future negotiations 

 between these countries in establishing exact boundaries, namely general con- 

 figuration of the coast, physical and geological structures, natural resources of 

 the area involved and regard for the length of each party's coastline and existing 

 offshore boundaries. 



The effect of this ruling could cause disputes between countries in other 

 parts of the world, especially in the Middle and Far East. Undoubtedly, this will be 

 taken into consideration during the forthcoming discussions and negotiations re- 

 garding any amendments which may be made to the United Nations Convention re- 

 garding the Continental Shelf. Petroleum companies, would naturally be inclined to 

 avoid exploration and development of areas which might be in dispute. 



The U.S. Supreme Court has just issued a ruling in the case of Louisiana's 

 claim to the Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico that will give the Federal 

 Government some 75% of the contested area in Zones 2 and 3. A special master 

 will be appointed to determine the actual seaward limit of the inward waters fromi 

 which the 3 miles seaward are to be measured. This line is to be drawn in accor- 

 dance with the principles of the Convention on the Territorial Sea and Tributary 

 Zones. It endorsed the principle of an ambulatory coastline to determine where 

 the state's starting point should be. 



