United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf Rules Falklands Islands are in Argentina’s Waters (March 28, 2016) [1]
On March 29, 2016, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) issued a report finding that the Falkland Islands are located in Argentina’s territorial waters. According to the press release [3], the Commission referenced the Argentine 2009 submission [4] and clarified that it “had already decided that it was not in a position to consider and qualify those parts of the submission that were subject to dispute and those parts that were related to the continental shelf appurtenant to Antarctica.” According to a news report [5], this ratifies Argentina’s submission and fixes “the limit of its territory at 200 to 350 miles from its coast,” which “expand Argentina’s maritime territory in the south Atlantic Ocean by 35%” and “will be important over future drilling in the waters.” While Argentina’s president welcomed the decision as “very significant” for his country, the U.K. Foreign Office stated “the commission has no jurisdiction over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands” and stressed that CLCS itself recognizes that its rules of procedure prohibit it from considering cases involving competing claims, such as the Falklands.