Maritime Limits Irish Continental Shelf

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) the continental shelf is that part of the seabed over which a coastal State exercises sovereign rights with regard to the exploration and exploitation of natural resources including oil and gas Deposits as well as other minerals and biological resources of the seabed. The legal continental shelf (consisting of the shelf, the Slope and the rise) extends out to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the coastline, or further if the shelf naturally extends beyond that limit (as it does in Ireland’s case).

Where the continental shelf extends beyond 200 nautical miles a State is required by UNCLOS (Article 76) to make a submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). This submission sets out the coordinates of the outer limits of the shelf and is accompanied by technical and scientific data to support the claim. The Commission assesses the limits and data submitted by the coastal State and make recommendations, which are final and binding.

Ireland’s claims to extended continental shelf have been divided into three separate areas:

Zone A: The Hatton-Rockall Area occurs to the west and north-west of Ireland and extends to a distance of more than 500 nautical miles from shore.
A maritime boundary between Ireland and the UK in this area was settled by international agreement in 1988. The area is also claimed by Denmark (on behalf of the Faroe Islands) and by Iceland. Informal consultations between Officials of the four States on the question of establishing the outer limits of the continental shelf and delimitation issues in the Hatton-Rockall Area have been taking place regularly since 2001. In view of the May 2009 deadline, However, Ireland lodged its submission to the CLCS for this area on 31 March 2009.

Zone B: The area abutting the Porcupine abyssal Plain is located to the southwest of Ireland and is not the subject of any dispute. On the 25 of May 2005
Ireland submit information on the limits of the continental shelf that lie beyond 200 nautical miles from the Baselines for this area. Reflection of this partial submission began in August 2005 and recommendations issued by the CLCS in April 2007. The outer limits of the continental shelf in this area were formally established on the basis of these recommendations in 2009 by means of statutory order.

Zone C: This area lies to the south of Ireland on the Celtic Shelf in the area of the Celtic Sea and the Bay of Biscay. Because the area had unresolved maritime boundaries between France, Ireland, Spain and the UK, the four States agreed to make a joint submission to the CLCS. A considerable amount of existing data for the joint submission was assembled and merged from the individual holdings of each country. In September 2005 new Geological and Geophysical data were also acquired specifically for this submission by a team of scientists from each of the four States during the Breogham cruise using the Spanish research vessel Hesperides. The submission was prepared collaboratively by technical experts from all four States and lodged with the CLCS on 19 May 2006.

Delimitation of this area (approximately 83.000 km) between the four States will be concerned now be agreed between them on the basis of applicable principles of international law.

Recommendations on this area were received from the CLCS in April 2009. Information on the CLCS, Article 76 of UNCLOS and the Executive Summaries of the partial submissions of Ireland and the joint submission of France, Ireland, Spain and the UK can be found via the online resource provided.

根据《联合国海洋法公约》（United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS），大陆架是指沿海国对其海床的勘探、开发自然资源（包括油气藏以及海床其他矿物与生物资源）行使主权权利的海域部分。法律意义上的大陆架（涵盖陆架、陆坡与陆隆）从海岸线向外延伸200海里，若大陆架自然延伸超过该范围（如爱尔兰的情况），则可进一步延伸。

若大陆架延伸超过200海里，沿海国需依据《联合国海洋法公约》第七十六条规定，向大陆架界限委员会（Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, CLCS）提交划界申请。该申请需载明大陆架外部界限的坐标，并附支撑该主张的技术与科学数据。委员会将对沿海国提交的界限与数据进行评估并出具建议，该建议具有最终约束力。

爱尔兰的外大陆架主张被划分为三个独立区域：

区域A：哈顿-罗卡尔（Hatton-Rockall）海域位于爱尔兰西部与西北海域，距岸超过500海里。爱尔兰与英国在该区域的海洋边界已于1988年通过国际协定划定。此外，丹麦（代表法罗群岛（Faroe Islands））与冰岛亦对该区域提出主权主张。自2001年起，四国官方定期开展非正式磋商，就划定大陆架外部界限及该区域的划界问题进行沟通。鉴于2009年5月的提交截止期限，爱尔兰于2009年3月31日向大陆架界限委员会提交了该区域的划界申请。

区域B：毗邻波多平深海平原（Porcupine abyssal Plain）的区域位于爱尔兰西南海域，未涉及任何主权争端。2005年5月25日，爱尔兰提交了该区域超出200海里基线的大陆架界限相关信息。大陆架界限委员会于2005年8月启动对该部分申请的审议，并于2007年4月出具建议。基于该建议，爱尔兰于2009年通过法定命令正式确立了该区域大陆架的外部界限。

区域C：该区域位于爱尔兰南部，涵盖凯尔特海（Celtic Sea）与比斯开湾（Bay of Biscay）海域内的凯尔特陆架。由于法国、爱尔兰、西班牙与英国之间存在未决的海洋边界争端，四国同意联合向大陆架界限委员会提交划界申请。联合申请所需的大量现有数据由四国分别持有的资料整合汇集而成。2005年9月，四国科学家团队搭乘西班牙科研船“赫斯佩里德斯”号（Hesperides）执行“布雷奥加姆”（Breogham）科考航次，专门为该联合申请采集了新的地质与地球物理数据。申请由四国技术专家共同编制，并于2006年5月19日提交至大陆架界限委员会。

四国将依据适用的国际法原则，协商划定该面积约83000平方公里的海域边界。大陆架界限委员会已于2009年4月就该区域出具建议。有关大陆架界限委员会、《联合国海洋法公约》第七十六条，以及爱尔兰部分划界申请与法、爱、西、英四国联合划界申请的执行摘要，均可通过提供的在线资源查阅。