The equidistance principle, or principle of equidistance, is a
legal concept
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
in
maritime boundary
A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of the Earth's water surface areas using physiographic or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...
claims that a nation's maritime boundaries should conform to a median line that is
equidistant
A point is said to be equidistant from a set of objects if the distances between that point and each object in the set are equal.
In two-dimensional Euclidean geometry, the locus of points equidistant from two given (different) points is the ...
from the shores of neighboring nations. The concept was developed in the process of settling disputes in which the
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
s of adjacent nations were located on a contiguous
continental shelf:
The equidistance principle represents one aspect of customary international law, but its importance is evaluated in light of other factors
[Dorinda G. Dallmeyer ''et al.'' (1989). ] such as history:
History
The
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
used equidistance in the 1805 Act of Congress that divided public lands by measurements as close as possible to "equidistant from those two corners which
stand on the same line." One of the most notable historical events regarding equidistance is the Argument between Germany, Netherlands and Denmark. All three countries laid claim to a specific area within the ocean. Germany claimed that due to special circumstances they owned that land so the three countries fought through the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
. Eventually the ICJ stepped in and
held a trial regarding the topic.
International law also refers to equidistance. For example, Article 6 of the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf explains:
See also
*
Natural prolongation principle
References
Sources
* Dorinda G. Dallmeyer and Louis De Vorsey. (1989). ''Rights to Oceanic Resources: Deciding and Drawing Maritime Boundaries.'' Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
OCLC 18981568
{{DEFAULTSORT:Equidistance principle
Borders
Maritime boundaries