Publisher's Synopsis
The oceans cover five-sevenths of the Earth's surface. In the past 50 years coastal state, taking advantage of new technology and resource requirements, have extended national jurisdiction hundreds of miles into the sea. This action has removed large parts of the ocean from free international use and has generated hundreds of boundary conflicts. Over the last 30 years international tribunes have developed, under the rubric of "equitable principles" - a code of rules for boundary delimitation. But the question of the starting point, the baseline, from which all boundaries are measured has evaded regulation. Baselines are drawn in an exorbitant fashion by many states, giving them large portions of the common heritage and often prejudicing the offshore areas of many states.;This book examines the genesis of the straight baseline in international law and the forces that exploited it as a technique of maritime expansion rather then boundary delimitation.
