The 1996 France – United Kingdom Maritime Delimitation Agreements are two

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

which establish a number of

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 ...

between French territories and British territories in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

.Anderson, Ewan W. (2003). Both treaties were signed in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 27 June 1996. The two treaties entered into force on 30 January 1997 after they had been

ratified Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inten ...

by both states.

First treaty

The first treaty delimits the

boundary Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment * ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film * ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip film *Boundary (cricket), the edge of the pla ...

in the Anguilla Channel between the British territory of

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The terr ...

and the French territories of Saint Martin and

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy (french: Saint-Barthélemy, ), officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. It is often abbreviated to St. Barth in French, and St. Barts in English ...

. The boundary is a simplified equidistant

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...

line that runs in roughly an east–west direction. It consists of seven straight-line segments defined by eight individual coordinate points. The western end of the border forms a

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

with the Netherlands Antilles and the easternmost end of the border forms the tripoint with Antigua and Barbuda. The full name of the treaty is ''Agreement on maritime delimitation between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy, on one hand, and Anguilla on the other''. When the treaty was signed, Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy were both part of the Guadeloupe overseas department of France. In 2007, Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy became two separate

overseas collectivities The French overseas collectivities (''collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM'') are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonies ...

of France. As a result, the first treaty now defines only the Anguilla – Saint Martin maritime boundary. There is no maritime boundary between Anguilla and the separate collectivity of Saint Barthélemy.

Second treaty

The second treaty delimits the boundary between the British territory of Montserrat and the French territory of Guadeloupe. The boundary is a simplified equidistant line that runs through the

Guadeloupe Passage The Guadeloupe Passage is a strait in the Caribbean. It separates Guadeloupe from Montserrat and from Antigua and Barbuda.

in roughly an east–west direction. It consists of four straight-line segments defined by five individual coordinate points. The western end of the border forms the

with

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and the easternmost end of the border forms a tripoint with Antigua and Barbuda. The full name of the treaty is ''Agreement on maritime delimitation between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning Guadeloupe and Montserrat''.

Notes

References

* Anderson, Ewan W. (2003). ''International Boundaries: A Geopolitical Atlas.'' Routledge: New York.
OCLC 54061586

External links

Full text of first treaty (Anguilla – Saint Martin/Saint Barthélemy)Full text of second treaty (Guadeloupe – Montserrat)
{{DEFAULTSORT:1996 France-United Kingdom Maritime Delimitation Agreements France - United Kingdom Maritime Delimitation Agreements France - United Kingdom Maritime Delimitation Agreements France - United Kingdom Maritime Delimitation Agreements Treaties concluded in 1996 Boundary treaties Guadeloupe–Montserrat border France–United Kingdom treaties Anguilla–Collectivity of Saint Martin border Treaties entered into force in 1997 United Nations treaties Treaties extended to Guadeloupe Treaties extended to Anguilla Treaties extended to Montserrat fr:Frontière entre la France et le Royaume-Uni

First treaty

Second treaty

See also

Notes

References

External links