1989 Treaty between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the Zone of Cooperation in an Area between the Indonesian Province of East Timor and Northern Australia

Timor Gap Treaty

• International Law Documents
  • Oceans/Law of the Sea
    • Joint Development
    • Maritime Boundaries
    • Marine Environment
    • Offshore
    • Regional/Bilateral

Ministerial Council / Joint Authority

“Article 30: Settlement of Disputes

1. Any dispute arising between the Contracting States concerning the interpretation or application of this Treaty shall be resolved by consultation or negotiation between the Contracting States.
2. Each production sharing contract entered into by the Joint Authority shall contain provisions to the effect that any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of such contract shall be submitted to a specified form of binding commercial arbitration. The Contracting States shall facilitate the enforcement in their respective courts of arbitral awards made pursuant to such arbitration.”

N/A

Annex A: Designation and Description Including Maps and Coordinates of the Areas Comprising the Zone of Cooperation

Annex B: Petroleum Mining Code for Area A of the Zone of Cooperation

Annex C: Model Production Sharing Contract between the Joint Authority and (Contractors)

Annex D: Taxation Code for the Avoidance of Double Taxation in Respect of Activities Connected with Area A of the Zone of Cooperation

09/02/1991

20/05/2002

“Article 32: Entry into Force

This Treaty shall enter into force thirty (30) days after the date on which the Contracting States have notified each other in writing that their respective requirements for entry into force of this Treaty have been complied with.*

* Notes to this effect were exchanged at Canberra 10 January 1991. The Treaty entered into force 9 February 1991.

Article 33: Term of this Treaty

1. This Treaty shall remain in force for forty (40) years from the date of entry into force of this Treaty.
2. Unless the two Contracting States agree otherwise, this Treaty shall continue in force after the initial forty (40) year term for successive terms of twenty (20) years, unless by the end of each term, including the initial term of forty years, the two Contracting States have concluded an agreement on a permanent continental shelf delimitation in the area covered by the Zone of Cooperation.
3. Where the Contracting States have not concluded an agreement on a permanent continental shelf delimitation in the area covered by the Zone of Cooperation five years prior to the end of any of the terms referred to in paragraphs 1 or 2 of this Article, representatives of the two Contracting States shall meet with a view to reaching agreement on such permanent continental shelf delimitation.
4. This Article shall be without prejudice to the continued operation of Article 34 of this Treaty.”

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2002 Timor Sea Treaty between the Government of East Timor and the Government of Australia

2003 Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste relating to the Unitisation of the Sunrise and Troubadour Fields

2006 Treaty between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea

Australian Treaty Series accessed on 17/10/2019

The Treaty was concluded aboard an aircraft flying above the Timor Sea in an area designated as the Zone of Cooperation under this Treaty.

Date of termination: This treaty was not officially terminated.  However, it is presumed to have lapsed when Timor Leste gained its independence, and was no longer a province of Indonesia, on 20 May 2002.

Date of notification: See footnote #3: “Notes to this effect were exchanged at Canberra 10 January 1991.”