The Price of Failure to Negotiate Maritime Boundary Delimitation Agreements in CARICOM

• Author: Carl W Dundas
• Pages: 88-118

88 CARICOM: Appropriate Adaptation to a Changing Global Environment

Historical Background

The 1893 Saint John-Mariscal Treaty between the United Kingdom (British

Honduras/Belize) and Mexico, which dealt with both land and sea (internal

waters) borders in the area of the tip of Yucatan Peninsula and the cays

(Ambergris) was one of the earliest maritime boundary delimitation treaties

in the CARICOM region. The delimitation treaty between the Republic of

Venezuela and the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago evolved out of a rather

long and historic antecedent. Its entry into force brought an end to the treaty

between Venezuela and the United Kingdom (with respect to Trinidad) relating

to the Gulf of Paria, signed at Caracas in February 1942 (XII paragraph 2 of

this Treaty). The 1942 Treaty was to protect potential hydrocarbon deposits

occurring outside the territorial sea limit of the Parties. That Treaty set the

stage for the later development of the continental shelf concept, which has

expanded to claim a large percentage of the seabed and subsoil for coastal

states’ jurisdiction. Since those early treaties of the colonial era, the

independent States of CARICOM have concluded eight delimitation treaties2

and Montserrat, a non-independent Member State, has through the United

Kingdom concluded a delimitation agreement with France with respect to

Guadeloupe.3 A further five maritime boundary delimitation agreements have

been concluded by the United Kingdom on behalf of its dependent territories

in the Caribbean recently.4

THE PRICE OF FAILURE TO

NEGOTIATE MARITIME BOUNDARY

DELIMITATION AGREEMENTS IN

CARICOM

Carl W Dundas1

44

44

4

89

The Price of Failure to Negotiate Maritime Boundary

Current Situation

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which

was signed in Jamaica in 1982 and entered into force in 1994, increased the

conclusion of delimitation agreements around the world. It recognized a 12-

nautical mile (nm) limit for the territorial sea, archipelagic waters zone, in

cases where the stipulated requirements were met, the 200-nautical mile

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) limit and an extended continental shelf beyond

200 nautical miles and up to 350-nautical mile limit from the baselines of

the coastal States concerned. These new or expanded maritime zones have

far-reaching implications for maritime boundaries delimitation with respect

to CARICOM Member States and Associate Members. The 12-nm territorial

sea enabled Member States to claim jurisdiction up to that limit or to the

median line with a neighbouring State which is situated less than 24 miles

away.

Six CARICOM States, namely, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Grenada,

Jamaica, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago, have

claimed archipelagic status. All CARICOM Member States have potential

claims of up to 200 nm in respect of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or

continental shelf or both. Some CARICOM States, namely, Bahamas,

Barbados, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago, have potential claim

to the extended continental shelf. There are approximately 48 potential

maritime boundaries to be settled in CARICOM by Member States, of which

eight have been settled and one, Barbados and Guyana, is a provisional

arrangement, leaving 39 to be settled. The Associate Members have 12

potential maritime boundaries to be settled, of which five have been settled,

leaving seven to be settled. Third party settlement is being sought in four

cases, namely, Barbados-Trinidad & Tobago; Belize-Guatemala-Honduras;

Guyana-Venezuela; and Guyana-Suriname.

Some Facts on the Concluded Agreements

Member States

The Haiti and Cuba delimitation of maritime boundary agreement was

signed in 1977 and entered into force in 1978. At time of signature, both

States had recently extended their jurisdiction to cover the declared EEZ of

200 nautical miles. The main feature of the delimitation was that it took

place between two opposite States and it was done on the basis of the principle