Dispute Concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal

Introduction

Judge Rüdiger Wolfrum presented and explained the most recent Judgment of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea from March 14, 2012 on the ‘Dispute concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal (Bangladesh/Myanmar). He particularly dealt with questions of jurisdiction (it should be noted that this is the first judgment delimiting entitlements to the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles), the treatment of islands in the delimitation process, the delimitation methodology and the construction of an adjusted equidistance line. This Judgment breaks new ground although it remains firmly within the parameters established to date by international courts and tribunals.

About the Speaker

Prof Rüdiger Wolfrum, judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, was born on December 13, 1941 in Berlin. Study of law in Bonn and Tübingen, doctorate Bonn Univ. (1973), habilitation in public law including international law Bonn Univ. (1980), Professor of Public Law and International Law Mainz Univ. (1982), Professor of Public Law and International Law, Kiel Univ. (1982-1993), Member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (1990-2000), Director and Scientific Member of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (since 1993), Professor Univ. of Heidelberg (since 1993), Vice President of the German Research Foundation (1996-2002), Honorary Professor at Hamburg Univ. (since 2002), Founding Member of the Cultural Sciences Section of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (since 2003), President of the German Society for International Law (2005-2009), Honorary Professor at Faculty of Law, Univ. of Pretoria (since 2010). Since 1 August 1996 Judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS); re-elected in May 1999 and June 2008; 1996 – 1999 Vice-President ITLOS; 2005 – 2008 President ITLOS.

Chairperson

Prof Robert C Beckman
Director, Centre for International Law