UNCLOS/maritime boundary delimitation : a normative standard? Part II, Is it still insufficiently addressed?

Maritime delimitation is a complex, long-lasting and sensitive political and diplomatic process. A State cannot determine its maritime boundary unilaterally, and where the delimitation claims of different States overlap, it becomes an “international facet”. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) aims to handle that international aspect, but how effective is it? The evolution of the contemporary international law of the sea, although started with the intention of formulating general principles for maritime boundary delimitation, finally lacks the normativity of delimitation where it was most needed. This is probably why Brown described the delimitation provisions of the UNCLOS as “abominably bad”. However, while examining the effectiveness of the delimitation provisions of UNCLOS, an analysis of its wording is inextricably linked to the process.