The Arabian/Persian Gulf (“the Gulf”) is a small semi-enclosed sea surrounded by eight States, namely Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The Gulf has long been an area of strategic and economic importance, rich in subsea hydrocarbon resources. Following a general introduction to the international law of the sea, this study analyses two forms of Gulf State practice; firstly, national legislation to date dealing with maritime limits and delimitation and secondly, the bilateral continental shelf agreements between the Gulf States, the majority of which delimit the continental shelf boundary between them. This analysis then assesses such state practice in the light of international law, with a particular focus on continental shelf delimitation. In so doing, this study places Gulf State practice in the context of the Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf 1958, the Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone 1958 and the Law of the Sea Convention 1982, as well as customary international law and international case law. This study reaches a number of conclusions in respect of delimitation in the Gulf more generally, but mainly in respect of continental shelf boundary delimitation in the Gulf, and how this compares with the international law of the sea. It notes the early references in Gulf legislation to delimitation on the basis of equitable principles, which were gradually superseded by references to the equidistance line. The reliance on equidistance as a method of delimitation, albeit often heavily modified, in the bilateral maritime boundary agreements is examined. The conclusions then seek to present such features of Gulf State practice in the context of the international law of the sea, noting innovative aspects of delimitation in the Gulf, as well as the relevance of international law to a small but extremely significant region of the world.
The Arabian/Persian Gulf (“the Gulf”) is a small semi-enclosed sea surrounded by eight States, namely Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The Gulf has long been an area of strategic and economic importance, rich in subsea hydrocarbon resources. Follow...