The (almost) final delimitation of the maritime border in the Timor Sea

Abstract

Abstract: Timor-Leste and Australia reached an historic settlement on the delimitation of the maritime border of the “Timor Gap”, ending a decade long dispute that dates back to the colonial time of Portuguese Timor. There are many lessons to learn from this process, which contribution to the development of international law this paper intends to discuss, namely the erga omnes obligation arising from the exercise of the right to self-determination by the Timorese people, the Joint Development of natural resources in maritime areas under dispute and the recent procedural relevance of the mandatory conciliation under the UNCLOS.

Keywords: Timor-Gap, delimitation of maritime borders, mandatory conciliation, UNCLOS