Australian Maritime Boundaries: the Australian Antarctic Territory

Abstract

Australia will include the Australian Antarctic Territory in its November 2004 submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. It is the first Claimant State to attempt delimitation of an extended continental shelf zone there. This paper investigates the complexity of Australia's Antarctic maritime boundaries from political, legal and practical perspectives that have hitherto been purely hypothetical. It concludes that the practical component is achievable, though complex, and will serve as a precedent for other Antarctic Claimant States. Irrespective of whether or not the submission succeeds, it will serve as a valuable lesson, legally and politically.