Climate Change and Its Impact on the Redelimitation of Maritime Boundaries in Public International Law

Abstract

This research paper discusses the legal dilemmas arising from the phenomenon of sea-level rise and its impact on the stability of maritime boundaries for coastal and island states under the rules of contemporary international law. The core problem lies in the fact that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) adopted "baselines" as a dynamic geographical criterion that follows the receding waterline. This threatens climate-vulnerable states with the loss of vast areas of their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) and sovereign control in the event of land submergence or coastline recession.