The Middle Eastern States And The Law Of The Sea

This book, first published in 1976 and in this second edition in 1988, combines an examination of the political, cultural and economic geography of the Middle East with a detailed study of the region’s landscape features, natural resources, environmental conditions and ecological evolution. The Middle East, with its extremes of climate and terrain, has long fascinated those interested in the fine balance between man and his environment, and now its economic and political importance in world affairs has brought the region to the attention of everybody.

This pioneering research brings into focus the Islamic contribution and influence in the development of the modern law of the sea.

This first book in a three-volume work on Sea-Bed Energy & Minerals: The International Legal Regime is concerned with the law governing the exploitation of energy & mineral resources in two quite different sub-marine areas. Volume 1 deals with the areas within the limits of national jurisdiction, that is, all of the submarine areas extending from the coast to the seaward limit of the continental shelf. As its subtitle indicates, this volume is predominantly concerned with The Continental Shelf . Although the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has still not entered into force, and, indeed, may not do so for many years for some of the major maritime powers, its adoption in 1982 did, nonetheless, usher in a period of relative stability in the rules governing the areas within national jurisdiction, including, in particular, the continental shelf. However, being the creatures of compromise, some of its rules are undeniably vague & it has been left to State practice & international courts & tribunals to develop these rules further, especially those relating to the delimitation of the continental shelf between neighbouring States. Volume 1 provides an analysis of the rules of conventional & custromary law in the light of this practice. Volume 2, on Sea-Bed Mining , deals with the area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, that is, the submarine area lying seaward of the outer limit of the continental shelf. Volume 3, which will be published at the same time as Volume 2, will provide Documents, Tables & Bibliography relating to the subject matter of the first two volumes.

This fully revised new edition offers a comprehensive picture of the law of maritime delimitation, incorporating all new cases and State practice in this field. As with all types of law, the law of maritime delimitation should possess a degree of predictability. On the other hand, as maritime delimitation cases differ, flexible considerations of geographical and non-geographical factors are also required in order to achieve equitable results. How, then, is it possible to ensure predictability while taking into account a number of diverse factors in order to achieve an equitable result? This is the question at the heart of the law of maritime delimitation. This book explores a well-balanced legal framework that reconciles predictability and flexibility in the law of maritime delimitation by looking at three aspects of the question: first it reviews the evolution of the law of maritime delimitation; second, it undertakes a comparative study of the case law and State practice; and third, it critically assesses the law of maritime delimitation in its current form.