Lecturer: Mr. Simon Njuguna

Mr. Simon Njuguna is a member of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf since 2012 and is currently serving his second term after re-election in 2017. He is one of the Commission's vice-chairs. At the same time, he is an employee of the Government of Kenya serving as a Deputy Director in the Maritime Division within Kenya's International Boundaries Office in Nairobi. He has had extensive on-the-job training on matters relating to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea particularly in the field of delineation of the continental shelf.

Discussant: 

Prof. KIM Hyun-Soo, Professor of International Law, School of Law, Inha University

Chairperson: 

Prof. Lei Xiaolu, Associate Professor of International Law, CIBOS, Wuhan University

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PROGRAMME

OUTLINE

A.   Preamble and Introduction

i.    Ordinally meaning of continental margin

ii.   What the continental margin is all about

iii.  Positioning of the continental margin in the delineation process

B.   UNCLOS, Article 76 on continental margin- paragraphs 1,3

C.   Article 76 paragraph 4 (a)-Outer Edge of the Continental Margin

i.    Key highlights of para 4 (a)

ii.   Paragraph 7 within para 4(a)

D.   Formulae for establishment of the outer edge of the Margin (STG elaboration of para 4 (a))

i.    Distance formula

ii.   Sediment thickness formula

1.    Outer most fixed point

2.    Sediment continuity

iii. Combining the formulae

E.    Specific real example

i.    Formulae

ii.   Outer edge

References and Materials

Short justification on only why this reference (for both Session 4 and Session 5)

The science of delineation as a subject matter has several publications mostly on evaluation of how particular academicians view some aspects and considerations in submissions and or subject matter. Some of them are high level critic and/or commentaries on specific aspects, some of which are by previous or current CLCS members on their own personal capacity as independent publicists. Yet not all considerations and deliberations of the Commission are available to the outside world (owing to confidentiality of submissions by States and the consideration of the same by CLCS). Indeed, the publicly available official documents on particular submissions are the executive summaries and Summary of recommendations to States.

Therefore, for a start up and mid level knowledge on delineation, the requirement on how to do it is largely in specialized publications. Indeed, many incoming but accomplished scientists are baffled by the prescriptions on how to use their knowledge and expertise in implementing Article 76. in this regard and on balance the following specialized publications have been used for this lecture;

•        United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Article 76 

(https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part6.htm)

•        Scientific and technical guidelines of the Commission on the limits of continental Shelf, CLCS/11, New York May 1999 

(https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N99/171/08/IMG/N9917108.pdf?OpenElement)

•        Training manual (https://shop.un.org/books/law-sea-training-manual-27351)

•        Geomorphic Basis for National-International Boundaries on the Ocean Floor, Hedberg HD (1981) as published in Marine Technology Society Journal V14 No.1 p 32-37

•        Reasons and Methods of Fixing the Outer Limits of the legal continental shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles, Gardiner Piers R.R.. (1978)

•        Rules of Procedure of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf CLCS/40/Rev.1 

(https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N08/309/23/PDF/N0830923.pdf?OpenElement)

•        Internal code of conduct for members of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, Section 6 (CLCS/47, 8 September 2005)

•        http://www.geocap.no/content/shelf  

•        Summary of Recommendation of the commission to States

•        The Partial Revised Submission Made by Brazil in Respect of the Brazilian Southern Region on 10 April 2015 (https://www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/bra02_rev15/2019_03_08_COM_REC_BRAREV_summary.pdf)

•        The government of the kingdom of Denmark together with the Government of the Faroes in respect of the continental shelf north of the Faroe Islands on 29 April 2009 with respect to the Faroe Islands (https://www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/dnk28_09/2014_03_14_SCDNK_REC_COM_20140521.pdf)

LECTURE

session 4. determination of the fos under article 76 of unclos-njuguna