luchorosarigasino

jueves, 30 de enero de 2014

27 de nero del 2014 del 30 al 40

acknowledged receipt of each other’s notification without making any reference to the possible
establishment of an international maritime boundary between them.
2. The 1952 Santiago Declaration
45. As noted above (see paragraph 20), the Santiago Declaration was signed by Chile,
Ecuador and Peru during the 1952 Conference held in Santiago de Chile on the Exploitation and
Conservation of the Marine Resources of the South Pacific.
46. According to Chile, the 1952 Santiago Declaration has been a treaty from its inception
and was always intended by its signatories to be legally binding. Chile further notes that the United
Nations Treaty Series indicates that the 1952 Santiago Declaration entered into force upon
signature on 18 August 1952, with there being no record of any objection by Peru to such
indication.
47. Peru considers that the 1952 Santiago Declaration was not conceived as a treaty, but
rather as a proclamation of the international maritime policy of the three States. Peru claims that it
was thus “declarative” in character, but accepts that it later acquired the status of a treaty after
being ratified by each signatory (Chile in 1954, Ecuador and Peru in 1955) and registered as such
with the United Nations Secretariat on 12 May 1976, pursuant to Article 102, paragraph 1, of the
Charter of the United Nations.
*
48. In view of the above, the Court observes that it is no longer contested that the
1952 Santiago Declaration is an international treaty. The Court’s task now is to ascertain whether
it established a maritime boundary between the Parties.
49. The 1952 Santiago Declaration provides as follows:
“1. Governments have the obligation to ensure for their peoples the necessary
conditions of subsistence, and to provide them with the resources for their
economic development.
2. Consequently, they are responsible for the conservation and protection of their
natural resources and for the regulation of the development of these resources in
order to secure the best possible advantages for their respective countries. - 24 -
3. Thus, it is also their duty to prevent any exploitation of these resources, beyond
the scope of their jurisdiction, which endangers the existence, integrity and
conservation of these resources to the detriment of the peoples who, because of
their geographical situation, possess irreplaceable means of subsistence and vital
economic resources in their seas.
In view of the foregoing considerations, the Governments of Chile, Ecuador and
Peru, determined to conserve and safeguard for their respective peoples the natural
resources of the maritime zones adjacent to their coasts, formulate the following
Declaration:
I. The geological and biological factors which determine the existence,
conservation and development of marine fauna and flora in the waters along
the coasts of the countries making the Declaration are such that the former
extension of the territorial sea and the contiguous zone are inadequate for the
purposes of the conservation, development and exploitation of these
resources, to which the coastal countries are entitled.
II. In the light of these circumstances, the Governments of Chile, Ecuador and
Peru proclaim as a norm of their international maritime policy that they each
possess exclusive sovereignty and jurisdiction over the sea along the coasts
of their respective countries to a minimum distance of 200 nautical miles
from these coasts.
III. The exclusive jurisdiction and sovereignty over this maritime zone shall also
encompass exclusive sovereignty and jurisdiction over the seabed and the
subsoil thereof.
IV. In the case of island territories, the zone of 200 nautical miles shall apply to
the entire coast of the island or group of islands. If an island or group of
islands belonging to one of the countries making the declaration is situated
less than 200 nautical miles from the general maritime zone belonging to
another of those countries, the maritime zone of the island or group of islands
shall be limited by the parallel at the point at which the land frontier of the
States concerned reaches the sea.
V. This declaration shall be without prejudice to the necessary limitations to the
exercise of sovereignty and jurisdiction established under international law to
allow innocent and inoffensive passage through the area indicated for ships
of all nations.
VI. For the application of the principles contained in this Declaration, the
Governments of Chile, Ecuador and Peru hereby announce their intention to
sign agreements or conventions which shall establish general norms to
regulate and protect hunting and fishing within the maritime zone belonging
to them, and to regulate and co-ordinate the exploitation and development of
all other kinds of products or natural resources existing in these waters which
are of common interest.”
* - 25 -
50. Peru asserts that the 1952 Santiago Declaration lacks characteristics which might be
expected of a boundary agreement, namely, an appropriate format, a definition or description of a
boundary, cartographic material and a requirement for ratification. Chile disagrees with Peru’s
arguments concerning the characteristics of boundary agreements, pointing out that a treaty
effecting a boundary delimitation can take any form.
51. According to Chile, it follows from paragraph IV of the 1952 Santiago Declaration that
the maritime boundary between neighbouring States parties is the parallel of latitude passing
through the point at which the land boundary between them reaches the sea. Chile contends that
paragraph IV delimits both the general and insular maritime zones of the States parties, arguing that
the reference to islands in this provision is a specific application of a generally agreed rule, the
specification of which is explained by the particular importance of islands to Ecuador’s
geographical circumstances. In support of this claim, Chile relies upon the Minutes of the
1952 Conference dated 11 August 1952, asserting that the Ecuadorean delegate requested
clarification that the boundary line of the jurisdictional zone of each country be the respective
parallel from the point at which the border of the countries touches or reaches the sea and that all
States expressed their mutual consent to such an understanding. Chile argues that such an
understanding, as recorded in the Minutes, constitutes an agreement relating to the conclusion of
the 1952 Santiago Declaration, within the meaning of Article 31, paragraph 2 (a) of the Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties. Although Chile recognizes that the issue of islands was of
particular concern to Ecuador, it also stresses that there are relevant islands in the vicinity of the
Peru-Chile border.
52. Chile maintains that the relationship between general and insular maritime zones must be
understood in light of the fact that the delimitation of insular zones along a line of parallel is only
coherent and effective if there is also a general maritime delimitation along such parallel. Further,
Chile points out that, in order to determine if an island is situated less than 200 nautical miles from
the general maritime zone of another State party to the 1952 Santiago Declaration, the perimeter of
such general maritime zone must have already been defined.
53. Peru argues that in so far as the continental coasts of the States parties are concerned, the
1952 Santiago Declaration simply claims a maritime zone extending to a minimum distance of
200 nautical miles, addressing only seaward and not lateral boundaries. In Peru’s view,
paragraph IV of the 1952 Santiago Declaration refers only to the entitlement generated by certain
islands and not to the entitlement generated by continental coasts, with the issue of islands being
relevant only between Ecuador and Peru, not between Peru and Chile. Peru contends that even if
some very small islands exist in the vicinity of the Peru-Chile border these are immediately
adjacent to the coast and do not have any effect on maritime entitlements distinct from the coast
itself, nor were they of concern during the 1952 Conference.
54. Peru rejects Chile’s argument that a general maritime delimitation must be assumed in
paragraph IV so as to make the reference to insular delimitation effective. It also questions that a
- 26 -
maritime boundary could result from an alleged practice implying or presupposing its existence.
Peru argues that, if it were true that parallels had been established as international maritime
boundaries prior to 1952, there would have been no need to include paragraph IV as such
boundaries would have already settled the question of the extent of the maritime entitlements of
islands. Peru further claims that the purpose of paragraph IV is to provide a protective zone for
insular maritime entitlements so that even if an eventual maritime delimitation occurred in a
manner otherwise detrimental to such insular entitlements, it could only do so as far as the line of
parallel referred to therein. Finally, Peru contests Chile’s interpretation of the Minutes of the
1952 Conference, arguing also that these do not constitute any form of “recorded agreement” but
could only amount to travaux préparatoires.
55. According to Chile, the object and purpose of the 1952 Santiago Declaration can be
stated at varying levels of specificity. Its most generally stated object and purpose is “to conserve
and safeguard for their respective peoples the natural resources of the maritime zones adjacent to
[the parties’] coasts”. It also has a more specific object and purpose, namely to set forth zones of
“exclusive sovereignty and jurisdiction”. This object and purpose is naturally concerned with
identifying the physical perimeter of each State’s maritime zone within which such sovereignty and
jurisdiction would be exercised. Chile further emphasizes that, although the 1952 Santiago
Declaration constitutes a joint proclamation of sovereignty, it is made by each of the three States
parties, each claiming sovereignty over a maritime zone which is distinct from that claimed by the
other two.
56. Peru agrees with Chile to the extent that the 1952 Santiago Declaration involves joint
action to declare the maritime rights of States parties to a minimum distance of 200 nautical miles
from their coasts so as to protect and preserve the natural resources adjacent to their territories.
Yet, Peru focuses on the 1952 Conference’s purpose as being to address collectively the problem of
whaling in South Pacific waters, arguing that, in order to do so, it was necessary that “between
them” the States parties police the 200-nautical-mile zone effectively. According to Peru, the
object and purpose of the 1952 Santiago Declaration was not the division of fishing grounds
between its States parties, but to create a zone functioning “as a single biological unit”  an
exercise of regional solidarity  designed to address the threat posed by foreign whaling. Thus,
Peru stresses that the 1952 Santiago Declaration does not include any stipulation as to how the
States parties’ maritime zones are delimited from each other.
*
57. The Court is required to analyse the terms of the 1952 Santiago Declaration in
accordance with the customary international law of treaty interpretation, as reflected in Articles 31
and 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (see Oil Platforms (Islamic Republic of
Iran v. United States of America), Preliminary Objections, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1996 (II),
p. 812, para. 23; Territorial Dispute (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya/Chad), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports
- 27 -
1994, pp. 21-22, para. 41). The Court applied these rules to the interpretation of treaties which
pre-date the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Dispute regarding Navigational and
Related Rights (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2009, p. 237, para. 47;
Sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan (Indonesia/Malaysia), Judgment, I.C.J.
Reports 2002, pp. 645-646, paras. 37-38; Kasikili/Sedudu Island (Botswana/Namibia), Judgment,
I.C.J. Reports 1999 (II), p. 1059, para. 18).
58. The Court commences by considering the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of
the 1952 Santiago Declaration in their context, in accordance with Article 31, paragraph 1, of the
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The 1952 Santiago Declaration does not make express
reference to the delimitation of maritime boundaries of the zones generated by the continental
coasts of its States parties. This is compounded by the lack of such information which might be
expected in an agreement determining maritime boundaries, namely, specific co-ordinates or
cartographic material. Nevertheless, the 1952 Santiago Declaration contains certain elements (in
its paragraph IV) which are relevant to the issue of maritime delimitation (see paragraph 60 below).
59. The Court notes that in paragraph II, the States parties “proclaim as a norm of their
international maritime policy that they each possess exclusive sovereignty and jurisdiction over the
sea along the coasts of their respective countries to a minimum distance of 200 nautical miles from
these coasts”. This provision establishes only a seaward claim and makes no reference to the need
to distinguish the lateral limits of the maritime zones of each State party. Paragraph III states that
“[t]he exclusive jurisdiction and sovereignty over this maritime zone shall also encompass
exclusive sovereignty and jurisdiction over the seabed and the subsoil thereof”. Such a reference to
jurisdiction and sovereignty does not necessarily require any delimitation to have already occurred.
Paragraph VI expresses the intention of the States parties to establish by agreement in the future
general norms of regulation and protection to be applied in their respective maritime zones.
Accordingly, although a description of the distance of maritime zones and reference to the exercise
of jurisdiction and sovereignty might indicate that the States parties were not unaware of issues of
general delimitation, the Court concludes that neither paragraph II nor paragraph III refers
explicitly to any lateral boundaries of the proclaimed 200-nautical-mile maritime zones, nor can the
need for such boundaries be implied by the references to jurisdiction and sovereignty.
60. The Court turns now to paragraph IV of the 1952 Santiago Declaration. The first
sentence of paragraph IV specifies that the proclaimed 200-nautical-mile maritime zones apply also
in the case of island territories. The second sentence of that paragraph addresses the situation
where an island or group of islands of one State party is located less than 200 nautical miles from
the general maritime zone of another State party. In this situation, the limit of the respective zones
shall be the parallel at the point at which the land frontier of the State concerned reaches the sea.
The Court observes that this provision, the only one in the 1952 Santiago Declaration making any
reference to the limits of the States parties’ maritime zones, is silent regarding the lateral limits of
the maritime zones which are not derived from island territories and which do not abut them. - 28 -
61. The Court is not convinced by Chile’s argument that paragraph IV can be understood
solely if it is considered to delimit not only insular maritime zones but also the entirety of the
general maritime zones of the States parties. The ordinary meaning of paragraph IV reveals a
particular interest in the maritime zones of islands which may be relevant even if a general
maritime zone has not yet been established. In effect, it appears that the States parties intended to
resolve a specific issue which could obviously create possible future tension between them by
agreeing that the parallel would limit insular zones.
62. In light of the foregoing, the Court concludes that the ordinary meaning of paragraph IV,
read in its context, goes no further than establishing the Parties’ agreement concerning the limits
between certain insular maritime zones and those zones generated by the continental coasts which
abut such insular maritime zones.
63. The Court now turns to consider the object and purpose of the 1952 Santiago
Declaration. It recalls that both Parties state such object and purpose narrowly: Peru argues that
the Declaration is primarily concerned with addressing issues of large-scale whaling, whereas Chile
argues that it can be most specifically understood as concerned with identifying the perimeters of
the maritime zone of each State party. The Court observes that the Preamble of the 1952 Santiago
Declaration focuses on the conservation and protection of the necessary natural resources for the
subsistence and economic development of the peoples of Chile, Ecuador and Peru, through the
extension of the maritime zones adjacent to their coasts.
64. The Court further considers that it is not necessary for it to address the existence of small
islands located close to the coast in the region of the Peru-Chile land boundary. The case file
demonstrates that the issue of insular zones in the context of the 1952 Santiago Declaration arose
from a concern expressed by Ecuador. It is equally clear from the case file that the small islands do
not appear to have been of concern to the Parties. As stated by Chile in its Rejoinder, referring to
these small islands, “[n]one of them was mentioned in the negotiating record related to the
1952 Santiago Declaration . . . The only islands that were mentioned in the context of the Santiago
Declaration were Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands.” Peru did not contest this.
65. The Court recalls Chile’s argument, based on Article 31, paragraph 2 (a), of the Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties, that the Minutes of the 1952 Conference constitute an
“agreement relating to the treaty which was made between all the parties in connection with the
conclusion of the treaty”. The Court considers that the Minutes of the 1952 Conference summarize
the discussions leading to the adoption of the 1952 Santiago Declaration, rather than record an
agreement of the negotiating States. Thus, they are more appropriately characterized as travaux
préparatoires which constitute supplementary means of interpretation within the meaning of
Article 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. - 29 -
66. In light of the above, the Court does not need, in principle, to resort to supplementary
means of interpretation, such as the travaux préparatoires of the 1952 Santiago Declaration and the
circumstances of its conclusion, to determine the meaning of that Declaration. However, as in
other cases (see, for example, Sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan
(Indonesia/Malaysia), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2002, p. 653, para. 53; Maritime Delimitation and
Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain (Qatar v. Bahrain), Jurisdiction and
Admissibility, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1995, p. 21, para. 40; Territorial Dispute (Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya/Chad), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1994, p. 27, para. 55), the Court has considered the
relevant material, which confirms the above interpretation of the 1952 Santiago Declaration.
67. Chile’s original proposal presented to the 1952 Conference provided as follows:
“The zone indicated comprises all waters within the perimeter formed by the
coasts of each country and a mathematical parallel projected into the sea to
200 nautical miles away from the mainland, along the coastal fringe.
In the case of island territories, the zone of 200 nautical miles will apply all
around the island or island group.
If an island or group of islands belonging to one of the countries making the
declaration is situated less than 200 nautical miles from the general maritime zone
belonging to another of those countries, according to what has been established in the
first paragraph of this article, the maritime zone of the said island or group of islands
shall be limited, in the corresponding part, to the distance that separates it from the
maritime zone of the other State or country.”

27 de enero del 2014 del 20 al 30

by Chile is totally inequitable as it accords Chile a full 200-nautical-mile maritime extension,
whereas Peru, in contrast, suffers a severe cut-off effect. Peru states that it is extraordinary for
Chile to seek to characterize a boundary line, which accords Chile more than twice as much
maritime area as it would Peru, as a stable frontier which is beneficial to Peru. Mercator Projection (18° 20' S)
BOLIVIA
PERU
Ilo
Arica
200 nautical miles
from Peru's coast
The maritime boundary lines
Tacna
Maritime boundary along parallel
Sketch-map No. 2:
OCEAN
as claimed by Chile
for illustrative purposes only.
This sketch-map has been prepared
claimed by Peru and Chile respectively
as c
al
mi
ed b y P eru
Marit mi
e b oundary a ol
ng e qu di
is
at
nce l ni
e
PACIFIC
CHILE
WGS 84
200 nautical miles
from Chile's coast
- 16 -- 17 -
IV. WHETHER THERE IS AN AGREED MARITIME BOUNDARY
24. In order to settle the dispute before it, the Court must first ascertain whether an agreed
maritime boundary exists, as Chile claims. In addressing this question, the Parties considered the
significance of the 1947 Proclamations, the 1952 Santiago Declaration and various agreements
concluded in 1952 and 1954. They also referred to the practice of the Parties subsequent to the
1952 Santiago Declaration. The Court will deal with each of these matters in turn.
1. The 1947 Proclamations of Chile and Peru
25. As noted above (see paragraph 19), in their 1947 Proclamations, Chile and Peru
unilaterally proclaimed certain maritime rights extending 200 nautical miles from their respective
coasts.
26. The Parties agree that the relevant historical background to these Proclamations involves
a number of comparable proclamations by other States, namely the United States of America’s two
Proclamations of its policy with respect to both the natural resources of the subsoil and sea-bed of
the continental shelf, and coastal fisheries in certain areas of the high seas, both dated
28 September 1945, the Mexican Declaration with Respect to Continental Shelf dated
29 October 1945 and the Argentinean Declaration Proclaiming Sovereignty over the Epicontinental
Sea and the Continental Shelf dated 11 October 1946. Both Parties agree on the importance of fish
and whale resources to their economies, submitting that the above-mentioned Proclamations by the
United States of America placed increased pressure on the commercial exploitation of fisheries off
the coast of the Pacific States of Latin America, thus motivating their 1947 Proclamations.
27. Beyond this background, the Parties present differing interpretations of both the content
and legal significance of the 1947 Proclamations.
28. According to Peru, Chile’s 1947 Declaration was an initial and innovative step, whereby
it asserted an alterable claim to jurisdiction, dependent on the adoption of further measures;
nothing in this Declaration indicated any intention, on the part of Chile, to address the question of
lateral maritime boundaries with neighbouring States. Peru argues that its own 1947 Decree is
similarly provisional, representing an initial step and not purporting to fix definitive limits of
Peruvian jurisdiction.
Peru contends that although its 1947 Decree refers to the Peruvian zone of control and
protection as “the area covered between the coast and an imaginary parallel line to it at a distance
of two hundred (200) nautical miles measured following the line of the geographical parallels”,
such reference simply described the manner in which the seaward limits of the maritime zone
would be drawn, with there being no intention to set any lateral boundaries with neighbouring
States. Peru further considers that, according to terminology at the relevant time, the language of
“sovereignty” in its 1947 Decree referred simply to rights over resources.
- 18 -
29. By contrast, Chile understands the Parties’ 1947 Proclamations as more relevant,
considering them to be “concordant unilateral proclamations, each claiming sovereignty to a
distance of 200 nautical miles”, being “substantially similar in form, content and effect”. Chile
observes that each of the Parties proclaims national sovereignty over its adjacent continental shelf,
as well as in respect of the water column, indicating also a right to extend the outer limit of its
respective maritime zone.
30. Peru contests Chile’s description of the 1947 Proclamations as “concordant”,
emphasizing that, although Chile’s 1947 Declaration and Peru’s 1947 Decree were closely related
in time and object, they were not co-ordinated or agreed between the Parties.
31. Chile further argues that the 1947 Proclamations set clear boundaries of the maritime
zones referred to therein. Chile contends that the method in Peru’s 1947 Decree of using a
geographical parallel to measure the outward limit of the maritime zone also necessarily determines
the northern and southern lateral limits of such zone along such line of geographical parallel.
According to Chile, its own references to a “perimeter” and to the “mathematical parallel” in its
1947 Declaration could be similarly understood as indicating that a tracé parallèle method was
used to indicate the perimeter of the claimed Chilean zone.
32. Chile adds that parallels of latitude were also used in the practice of American States.
Peru responds that the use of parallels of latitude by other American States described by Chile are
not instances of the use of parallels of latitude as international maritime boundaries.
33. For Chile, the primary significance of the 1947 Proclamations is as antecedents to the
1952 Santiago Declaration. Chile also refers to the 1947 Proclamations as circumstances of the
conclusion of the 1952 Santiago Declaration and the 1954 Special Maritime Frontier Zone
Agreement, in accordance with Article 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Chile
maintains that the 1947 Proclamations, in particular Peru’s use of a “line of the geographic
parallels” to measure its maritime projection, rendered the boundary delimitation uncontroversial in
1952, as there could be no less controversial boundary delimitation than when the claimed
maritime zones of two adjacent States abut perfectly but do not overlap. However, Chile further
clarifies that it does not consider that the 1947 Proclamations themselves established a maritime
boundary between the Parties.
34. Peru questions the Chilean claim that the adjacent maritime zones abut perfectly by
pointing out that the 1947 Proclamations do not stipulate co-ordinates or refer to international
boundaries. Peru’s view on the connection between the 1947 Proclamations and the 1952 Santiago
Declaration is that the 1947 Proclamations cannot constitute circumstances of the 1952 Santiago
- 19 -
Declaration’s conclusion in the sense of Article 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of
Treaties as they pre-date the conclusion of the 1952 Santiago Declaration by five years. Peru also
questions Chile’s assertion that the 1947 Proclamations constitute circumstances of the conclusion
of the 1954 Special Maritime Frontier Zone Agreement.
35. The Parties further disagree on the legal nature of the 1947 Proclamations, particularly
Chile’s 1947 Declaration. Chile contends that the 1947 Proclamations each had immediate effect,
without the need for further formality or enacting legislation. Peru denies this, contending rather
that Chile’s 1947 Declaration did not have the nature of a legal act. It points to the fact that the
1947 Declaration was published only in a daily newspaper and not in the Official Gazette of Chile.
36. Chile’s response to these arguments is that the status of its 1947 Declaration under
domestic law is not determinative of its status under international law, emphasizing that it was an
international claim made by the President of Chile and addressed to the international community.
Chile points out that the Parties exchanged formal notifications of their 1947 Proclamations,
arguing that the lack of protest thereto demonstrates acceptance of the validity of the other’s claim
to sovereignty, including in relation to the perimeter. This was challenged by Peru.
*
37. The relevant paragraphs of Chile’s 1947 Declaration provide as follows:
“Considering:
1. That the Governments of the United States of America, of Mexico and of the
Argentine Republic, by presidential declarations made on 28 September 1945,
29 October 1945, and 11 October 1946, respectively,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. That they have explicitly proclaimed the rights of their States to protect, preserve,
control and inspect fishing enterprises, with the object of preventing illicit
activities threatening to damage or destroy the considerable natural riches of this
kind contained in the seas adjacent to their coasts, and which are indispensable to
the welfare and progress of their respective peoples; and that the justice of such
claims is indisputable;
3. That it is manifestly convenient, in the case of the Chilean Republic, to issue a
similar proclamation of sovereignty, not only by the fact of possessing and having
already under exploitation natural riches essential to the life of the nation and
- 20 -
contained in the continental shelf, such as the coal-mines, which are exploited both
on the mainland and under the sea, but further because, in view of its topography
and the narrowness of its boundaries, the life of the country is linked to the sea and
to all present and future natural riches contained within it, more so than in the case
of any other country;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1) The Government of Chile confirms and proclaims its national sovereignty over all
the continental shelf adjacent to the continental and island coasts of its national
territory, whatever may be their depth below the sea, and claims by consequence
all the natural riches which exist on the said shelf, both in and under it, known or
to be discovered.
(2) The Government of Chile confirms and proclaims its national sovereignty over the
seas adjacent to its coasts whatever may be their depths, and within those limits
necessary in order to reserve, protect, preserve and exploit the natural resources of
whatever nature found on, within and below the said seas, placing within the
control of the government especially all fisheries and whaling activities with the
object of preventing the exploitation of natural riches of this kind to the detriment
of the inhabitants of Chile and to prevent the spoiling or destruction of the said
riches to the detriment of the country and the American continent.
(3) The demarcation of the protection zones for whaling and deep sea fishery in the
continental and island seas under the control of the Government of Chile will be
made in accordance with this declaration of sovereignty at any moment which the
Government may consider convenient, such demarcation to be ratified, amplified,
or modified in any way to conform with the knowledge, discoveries, studies and
interests of Chile as required in the future. Protection and control is hereby
declared immediately over all the seas contained within the perimeter formed by
the coast and the mathematical parallel projected into the sea at a distance of
200 nautical miles from the coasts of Chilean territory. This demarcation will be
calculated to include the Chilean islands, indicating a maritime zone contiguous to
the coasts of the said islands, projected parallel to these islands at a distance of
200 nautical miles around their coasts.
(4) The present declaration of sovereignty does not disregard the similar legitimate
rights of other States on a basis of reciprocity, nor does it affect the rights of free
navigation on the high seas.”
38. The relevant paragraphs of Peru’s 1947 Decree provide as follows:
“The President of the Republic
Considering:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
That the shelf contains certain natural resources which must be proclaimed as
our national heritage; - 21 -
That it is deemed equally necessary that the State protect, maintain and establish
a control of fisheries and other natural resources found in the continental waters which
cover the submerged shelf and the adjacent continental seas in order that these
resources which are so essential to our national life may continue to be exploited now
and in the future in such a way as to cause no detriment to the country’s economy or to
its food production;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
That the right to proclaim sovereignty and national jurisdiction over the entire
extension of the submerged shelf as well as over the continental waters which cover it
and the adjacent seas in the area required for the maintenance and vigilance of the
resources therein contained, has been claimed by other countries and practically
admitted in international law (Declaration of the President of the United States of
28 September 1945; Declaration of the President of Mexico of 29 October 1945;
Decree of the President of the Argentine Nation of 11 October 1946; Declaration of
the President of Chile of 23 June 1947);
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
With the advisory vote of the Cabinet:
Decrees:
1. To declare that national sovereignty and jurisdiction are extended to the
submerged continental or insular shelf adjacent to the continental or insular shores
of national territory, whatever the depth and extension of this shelf may be.
2. National sovereignty and jurisdiction are exercised as well over the sea adjoining
the shores of national territory whatever its depth and in the extension necessary to
reserve, protect, maintain and utilize natural resources and wealth of any kind
which may be found in or below those waters.
3. As a result of previous declarations the State reserves the right to establish the
limits of the zones of control and protection of natural resources in continental or
insular seas which are controlled by the Peruvian Government and to modify such
limits in accordance with supervening circumstances which may originate as a
result of further discoveries, studies or national interests which may become
apparent in the future and at the same time declares that it will exercise the same
control and protection on the seas adjacent to the Peruvian coast over the area
covered between the coast and an imaginary parallel line to it at a distance of two
hundred (200) nautical miles measured following the line of the geographical
parallels. As regards islands pertaining to the Nation, this demarcation will be
traced to include the sea area adjacent to the shores of these islands to a distance of
two hundred (200) nautical miles, measured from all points on the contour of these
islands. - 22 -
4. The present declaration does not affect the right to free navigation of ships of all
nations according to international law.”
39. The Court notes that the Parties are in agreement that the 1947 Proclamations do not
themselves establish an international maritime boundary. The Court therefore will consider the
1947 Proclamations only for the purpose of ascertaining whether the texts evidence the Parties’
understanding as far as the establishment of a future maritime boundary between them is
concerned.
40. The Court observes that paragraph 3 of Chile’s 1947 Declaration referred to a
“mathematical parallel” projected into the sea to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the Chilean
coast. Such a mathematical parallel limited the seaward extent of the projection, but did not fix its
lateral limits. The 1947 Declaration nonetheless stated that it concerned the continental shelf and
the seas “adjacent” to the Chilean coasts. It implied the need to fix, in the future, the lateral limits
of the jurisdiction that it was seeking to establish within a specified perimeter. The Court further
notes that Peru’s 1947 Decree, in paragraph 3, referred to “geographical parallels” in identifying its
maritime zone. The description of the relevant maritime zones in the 1947 Proclamations appears
to use a tracé parallèle method. However, the utilization of such method is not sufficient to
evidence a clear intention of the Parties that their eventual maritime boundary would be a parallel.
41. The Court recalls that paragraph 3 of Chile’s 1947 Declaration provides for the
establishment of protective zones for whaling and deep sea fishery, considering that these may be
modified in any way “to conform with the knowledge, discoveries, studies and interests of Chile as
required in the future”. This conditional language cannot be seen as committing Chile to a
particular method of delimiting a future lateral boundary with its neighbouring States; rather,
Chile’s concern relates to the establishment of a zone of protection and control so as to ensure the
exploitation and preservation of natural resources.
42. The language of Peru’s 1947 Decree is equally conditional. In paragraph 3, Peru
reserves the right to modify its “zones of control and protection” as a result of “national interests
which may become apparent in the future”.
43. In view of the above, the language of the 1947 Proclamations, as well as their provisional
nature, precludes an interpretation of them as reflecting a shared understanding of the Parties
concerning maritime delimitation. At the same time, the Court observes that the Parties’
1947 Proclamations contain similar claims concerning their rights and jurisdiction in the maritime
zones, giving rise to the necessity of establishing the lateral limits of these zones in the future. - 23 -
44. Having reached this conclusion, the Court does not need to address Chile’s argument
concerning the relevance of the communication of the 1947 Proclamations inter se and Peru’s
response to that argument. The Court notes, however, that both Peru and Chile simply

27 de nero del 2014 11

27 de nero del 2014 10 al 20

Mr. Ben Juratowitch, Solicitor admitted in England and Wales, Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer LLP, - 8 -
Mr. Motohiro Maeda, Solicitor admitted in England and Wales, Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer LLP,
Mr. Coalter G. Lathrop, Special Adviser, Sovereign Geographic, member of the North
Carolina Bar,
H.E. Mr. Luis Goycoolea, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Mr. Antonio Correa Olbrich, Counsellor, Embassy of Chile in the Kingdom of the
Netherlands,
Mr. Javier Gorostegui Obanoz, Second Secretary, Embassy of Chile in the Kingdom of the
Netherlands,
Ms Kate Parlett, Solicitor admitted in England and Wales and in Queensland, Australia,
Ms Nienke Grossman, Assistant Professor, University of Baltimore, Maryland, member of
the Bars of Virginia and the District of Columbia,
Ms Alexandra van der Meulen, Avocat à la Cour and member of the Bar of the State of
New York,
Mr. Francisco Abriani, member of the Buenos Aires Bar,
Mr. Paolo Palchetti, Professor of International Law, University of Macerata,
as Advisers;
Mr. Julio Poblete, National Division of Frontiers and Limits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Ms Fiona Bloor, United Kingdom Hydrographic Office,
Mr. Dick Gent, Marine Delimitation Ltd.,
as Technical Advisers,
THE COURT,
composed as above,
after deliberation,
delivers the following Judgment:
1. On 16 January 2008, the Republic of Peru (hereinafter “Peru”) filed in the Registry of the
Court an Application instituting proceedings against the Republic of Chile (hereinafter “Chile”) in
respect of a dispute concerning, on the one hand, “the delimitation of the boundary between the
maritime zones of the two States in the Pacific Ocean, beginning at a point on the coast called
- 9 -
Concordia . . . the terminal point of the land boundary established pursuant to the Treaty . . . of
3 June 1929” and, on the other, the recognition in favour of Peru of a “maritime zone lying within
200 nautical miles of Peru’s coast” and which should thus appertain to it, “but which Chile
considers to be part of the high seas”.
In its Application, Peru seeks to found the jurisdiction of the Court on Article XXXI of the
American Treaty on Pacific Settlement signed on 30 April 1948, officially designated, according to
Article LX thereof, as the “Pact of Bogotá” (hereinafter referred to as such).
2. In accordance with Article 40, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the Court, the Registrar
immediately communicated the Application to the Government of Chile; and, under paragraph 3 of
that Article, all other States entitled to appear before the Court were notified of the Application.
3. Pursuant to the instructions of the Court under Article 43 of the Rules of Court, the
Registrar addressed to States parties to the Pact of Bogotá the notifications provided for in
Article 63, paragraph 1, of the Statute of the Court. In accordance with the provisions of
Article 69, paragraph 3, of the Rules of Court, the Registrar moreover addressed to the
Organization of American States (hereinafter the “OAS”) the notification provided for in
Article 34, paragraph 3, of the Statute of the Court. As provided for in Article 69, paragraph 3, of
the Rules of Court, the Registry transmitted the written pleadings to the OAS and asked that
organization whether or not it intended to furnish observations in writing within the meaning of
that article; the OAS indicated that it did not intend to submit any such observations.
4. On the instructions of the Court, in accordance with the provisions of Article 69,
paragraph 3, of the Rules of Court, the Registrar addressed to the Permanent Commission for the
South Pacific (hereinafter the “CPPS”, from the Spanish acronym for “Comisión Permanente del
Pacífico Sur”) the notification provided for in Article 34, paragraph 3, of the Statute of the Court
with regard to the Declaration on the Maritime Zone, signed by Chile, Ecuador and Peru, in
Santiago on 18 August 1952 (hereinafter the “1952 Santiago Declaration”), and to the Agreement
relating to a Special Maritime Frontier Zone, signed by the same three States in Lima on
4 December 1954 (hereinafter the “1954 Special Maritime Frontier Zone Agreement”). In
response, the CPPS indicated that it did not intend to submit any observations in writing within the
meaning of Article 69, paragraph 3, of the Rules of Court.
5. On the instructions of the Court under Article 43 of the Rules of Court, the Registrar
addressed to Ecuador, as a State party to the 1952 Santiago Declaration and to the 1954 Special
Maritime Frontier Zone Agreement, the notification provided for in Article 63, paragraph 1, of the
Statute of the Court.
6. Since the Court included upon the Bench no judge of the nationality of either of the
Parties, each Party proceeded to exercise the right conferred upon it by Article 31, paragraph 3, of
the Statute to choose a judge ad hoc to sit in the case. Peru chose Mr. Gilbert Guillaume and Chile
Mr. Francisco Orrego Vicuña. - 10 -
7. By an Order dated 31 March 2008, the Court fixed 20 March 2009 as the time-limit for the
filing of the Memorial of Peru and 9 March 2010 as the time-limit for the filing of the
Counter-Memorial of Chile. Those pleadings were duly filed within the time-limits so prescribed.
8. By an Order of 27 April 2010, the Court authorized the submission of a Reply by Peru and
a Rejoinder by Chile, and fixed 9 November 2010 and 11 July 2011 as the respective time-limits
for the filing of those pleadings. The Reply and the Rejoinder were duly filed within the
time-limits thus fixed.
9. Referring to Article 53, paragraph 1, of the Rules of Court, the Governments of Colombia,
Ecuador and Bolivia asked to be furnished with copies of the pleadings and documents annexed in
the case. Having ascertained the views of the Parties pursuant to that same provision, the Court
decided to grant each of these requests. The Registrar duly communicated these decisions to the
said Governments and to the Parties.
10. In accordance with Article 53, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Court, the Court, after having
ascertained the views of the Parties, decided that copies of the pleadings and documents annexed
would be made accessible to the public on the opening of the oral proceedings.
11. Public hearings were held between 3 and 14 December 2012, at which the Court heard
the oral arguments and replies of:
For Peru: H.E. Mr. Allan Wagner,
Mr. Alain Pellet,
Mr. Rodman Bundy,
Mr. Tullio Treves,
Sir Michael Wood,
Mr. Vaughan Lowe.
For Chile: H.E. Mr. Albert van Klaveren Stork,
Mr. Pierre-Marie Dupuy,
Mr. David Colson,
Mr. James Crawford,
Mr. Jan Paulsson,
Mr. Georgios Petrochilos,
Mr. Luigi Condorelli,
Mr. Samuel Wordsworth. - 11 -
12. At the hearings, a Member of the Court put a question to the Parties, to which replies
were given orally in accordance with Article 61, paragraph 4, of the Rules of Court.
*
13. In its Application, the following requests were made by Peru:
“Peru requests the Court to determine the course of the boundary between the
maritime zones of the two States in accordance with international law . . . and to
adjudge and declare that Peru possesses exclusive sovereign rights in the maritime
area situated within the limit of 200 nautical miles from its coast but outside Chile’s
exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.
The Government of Peru, further, reserves its right to supplement, amend or
modify the present Application in the course of the proceedings.”
14. In the written proceedings, the following submissions were presented by the Parties:
On behalf of the Government of Peru,
in the Memorial and in the Reply:
“For the reasons set out [in Peru’s Memorial and Reply], the Republic of Peru
requests the Court to adjudge and declare that:
(1) The delimitation between the respective maritime zones between the Republic of
Peru and the Republic of Chile, is a line starting at ‘Point Concordia’ (defined as
the intersection with the low-water mark of a 10-kilometre radius arc, having as its
centre the first bridge over the River Lluta of the Arica-La Paz railway) and
equidistant from the baselines of both Parties, up to a point situated at a distance of
200 nautical miles from those baselines, and
(2) Beyond the point where the common maritime border ends, Peru is entitled to
exercise exclusive sovereign rights over a maritime area lying out to a distance of
200 nautical miles from its baselines.
The Republic of Peru reserves its right to amend these submissions as the case
may be in the course of the present proceedings.” - 12 -
On behalf of the Government of Chile,
in the Counter-Memorial and in the Rejoinder:
“Chile respectfully requests the Court to:
(a) dismiss Peru’s claims in their entirety;
(b) adjudge and declare that:
(i) the respective maritime zone entitlements of Chile and Peru have been fully
delimited by agreement;
(ii) those maritime zone entitlements are delimited by a boundary following the
parallel of latitude passing through the most seaward boundary marker of the
land boundary between Chile and Peru, known as Hito No. 1, having a
latitude of 18° 21' 00" S under WGS 84 Datum; and
(iii) Peru has no entitlement to any maritime zone extending to the south of that
parallel.”
15. At the oral proceedings, the Parties presented the same submissions as those contained in
their written pleadings.
*
* *
I. GEOGRAPHY
16. Peru and Chile are situated in the western part of South America; their mainland coasts
face the Pacific Ocean. Peru shares a land boundary with Ecuador to its north and with Chile to its
south. In the area with which these proceedings are concerned, Peru’s coast runs in a north-west
direction from the starting-point of the land boundary between the Parties on the Pacific coast and
Chile’s generally follows a north-south orientation. The coasts of both Peru and Chile in that area
are mostly uncomplicated and relatively smooth, with no distinct promontories or other
distinguishing features. (See sketch-map No. 1: Geographical context.) Iquique
CHILE
Arica
Tacna
LIMA
Ilo
COLOMBIA ECUADOR
QUITO
OCEAN
PACIFIC
BOLIVIA
Sketch-map No. 1:
PERU
for illustrative purposes only. BRAZIL
WGS 84
Mercator Projection (20° S)
This sketch-map has been prepared
Geographical context
SANTIAGO
ARGENTINA
- 13 -- 14 -
II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
17. Chile gained its independence from Spain in 1818 and Peru did so in 1821. At the time
of independence, Peru and Chile were not neighbouring States. Situated between the two countries
was the Spanish colonial territory of Charcas which, as from 1825, became the Republic of Bolivia.
In 1879 Chile declared war on Peru and Bolivia, in what is known historically as the War of the
Pacific. In 1883 hostilities between Chile and Peru formally came to an end under the Treaty of
Ancón. Under its terms, Peru ceded to Chile the coastal province of Tarapacá; in addition, Chile
gained possession of the Peruvian provinces of Tacna and Arica for a period of ten years on the
basis of an agreement that after that period of time there would be a plebiscite to determine
sovereignty over these provinces. After the signing of the truce between Bolivia and Chile in 1884
and of the 1904 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between them, the entire Bolivian coast became
Chilean.
18. Chile and Peru failed to agree on the terms of the above-mentioned plebiscite. Finally,
on 3 June 1929, following mediation attempts by the President of the United States of America, the
two countries signed the Treaty for the Settlement of the Dispute regarding Tacna and Arica
(hereinafter the “1929 Treaty of Lima”) and its Additional Protocol, whereby they agreed that
Tacna would be returned to Peru while Chile would retain Arica. The 1929 Treaty of Lima also
fixed the land boundary between the two countries. Under Article 3 of that Treaty, the Parties
agreed that a Mixed Commission of Limits should be constituted in order to determine and mark
the agreed boundary using a series of markers (“hitos” in Spanish). In its 1930 Final Act, the
1929-1930 Mixed Commission recorded the precise locations of the 80 markers that it had placed
on the ground to demarcate the land boundary.
19. In 1947 both Parties unilaterally proclaimed certain maritime rights extending
200 nautical miles from their coasts (hereinafter collectively the “1947 Proclamations”). The
President of Chile issued a Declaration concerning his country’s claim on 23 June 1947 (hereinafter
the “1947 Declaration” or “Chile’s 1947 Declaration”, reproduced at paragraph 37 below). The
President of Peru issued Supreme Decree No. 781, claiming the rights of his country, on
1 August 1947 (hereinafter the “1947 Decree” or “Peru’s 1947 Decree”, reproduced at
paragraph 38 below).
20. In 1952, 1954 and 1967, Chile, Ecuador and Peru negotiated twelve instruments to which
the Parties in this case make reference. Four were adopted in Santiago in August 1952 during the
Conference on the Exploitation and Conservation of the Marine Resources of the South Pacific (the
Regulations for Maritime Hunting Operations in the Waters of the South Pacific; the Joint
Declaration concerning Fishing Problems in the South Pacific; the Santiago Declaration; and the
Agreement Relating to the Organization of the Permanent Commission of the Conference on the
Exploitation and Conservation of the Marine Resources of the South Pacific). Six others were
adopted in Lima in December 1954 (the Complementary Convention to the Declaration of
Sovereignty on the Two-Hundred-Mile Maritime Zone; the Convention on the System of
Sanctions; the Agreement relating to Measures of Supervision and Control in the Maritime Zones
of the Signatory Countries; the Convention on the Granting of Permits for the Exploitation of the
Resources of the South Pacific; the Convention on the Ordinary Annual Meeting of the Permanent
Commission for the South Pacific; and the Agreement Relating to a Special Maritime Frontier
Zone). And, finally, two agreements relating to the functioning of the CPPS were signed in Quito
in May 1967. - 15 -
21. On 3 December 1973, the very day the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of
the Sea began, the twelve instruments were submitted by the three signatory States to the United
Nations Secretariat for registration under Article 102 of the Charter. The four 1952 instruments
(including the Santiago Declaration) were registered on 12 May 1976 (United Nations, Treaty
Series (UNTS), Vol. 1006, pp. 301, 315, 323 and 331, Registration Nos. I-14756 to I-14759). The
United Nations Treaty Series specifies that the four 1952 treaties came into force on
18 August 1952 upon signature. The 1954 Special Maritime Frontier Zone Agreement was
registered with the United Nations Secretariat on 24 August 2004 (UNTS, Vol. 2274, p. 527,
Registration No. I-40521). The United Nations Treaty Series indicates that the 1954 Special
Maritime Frontier Zone Agreement entered into force on 21 September 1967 by the exchange of
instruments of ratification. With regard to the two 1967 agreements, the Secretariat was informed
in 1976 that the signatory States had agreed not to insist upon the registration of these instruments,
as they related to matters of purely internal organization.
Representatives of the three States also signed in 1955 and later ratified the Agreement for
the Regulation of Permits for the Exploitation of the Resources of the South Pacific. That treaty
was not, however, submitted to the United Nations for registration along with the other
twelve instruments in 1973 or at any other time.
III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES
22. Peru and Chile have adopted fundamentally different positions in this case. Peru argues
that no agreed maritime boundary exists between the two countries and asks the Court to plot a
boundary line using the equidistance method in order to achieve an equitable result. Chile contends
that the 1952 Santiago Declaration established an international maritime boundary along the
parallel of latitude passing through the starting-point of the Peru-Chile land boundary and
extending to a minimum of 200 nautical miles. It further relies on several agreements and
subsequent practice as evidence of that boundary. Chile asks the Court to confirm the boundary
line accordingly. (See sketch-map No. 2: The maritime boundary lines claimed by Peru and Chile
respectively.)
Peru also argues that, beyond the point where the common maritime boundary ends, it is
entitled to exercise exclusive sovereign rights over a maritime area lying out to a distance of
200 nautical miles from its baselines. (This maritime area is depicted on sketch-map No. 2 in a
darker shade of blue.) Chile responds that Peru has no entitlement to any maritime zone extending
to the south of the parallel of latitude along which, as Chile maintains, the international maritime
boundary runs.
23. Chile contends that the principle of pacta sunt servanda and the principle of stability of
boundaries prevent any attempt to invite the Court to redraw a boundary that has already been
agreed. Chile adds that there have been significant benefits to both Parties as a result of the
stability of their long-standing maritime boundary. Peru argues that the delimitation line advocated