such as the skjaergaard in Norway, the base line becomes independent of the low-water mark and can only be determined by means of a geometric construction. The Court said: "In such circumstances the line of the low-water mark can no longer be put forward as a rule requiring the coast line to be followed in all its sinuosities; nor can one speak of exceptions when contemplating so rugged a coast in detail. Such a coast, viewed as a whole, calls for the application of a different method. Nor can one characterize as exceptions to the rule the very many derogations which would be necessitated by such a rugged coast. The rule would disappear under the exceptions. "The principle that the belt of territorial waters must follow the general direction of the coast makes it possible to fix certain criteria valid for any delimitation of the territorial sea; these criteria will be elucidated later. The Court will confine itself at this stage to noting that, in order to apply this principle, several States have deemed it necessary to follow the straight base-lines method and that they have not encountered objections of principle by other States. This method consists of selecting appropriate points on the low-water mark and drawing straight lines between them. This has been done, not only in the case of well-defined bays, but also in cases of minor curvatures of the coast line where it was solely a question of giving a simpler form to the belt of territorial waters." 1 The Commission interprets the Court's judgment, which was delivered on the point in question by a majority of 10 votes to 2, as expressing the law in force; accordingly, it took this judgment as the basis in drafting the article. Since, however, it is of the opinion that the rules recommended by the experts who met at The Hague in 1953 2 add certain desirable particulars to the general method advised by the Court, it has endorsed the experts' recommendations in a slightly modified form. The Commission considers that these additions represent a progressive development of international law, and that they cannot be regarded as binding until approved by States. Article 6 OUTER LIMIT OF THE TERRITORIAL SEA The outer limit of the territorial sea is the line every point of which is at a distance from the nearest point of the base line equal to the breadth of the territorial sea. Comment This is the method of determining the outer limit recommended by the group of experts; it had been in use already before 1930. By means of this method one obtains a line which in the case of deeply indented coasts departs from the line which follows the sinuosity of 1 International Court of Justice Reports, 1951, pp. 129-130. 2 This meeting was held from Apr. 14 to 16, 1953; the report of the group appears as an annex to U.N. doc. A/CN.4/61/Add. 1. the coast. It is undeniable that the latter would often be so tortuous as to be unusable for the purpose of shipping. The line all the points of which are at a distance of T miles from the nearest point on the coast (T being the breadth of the territorial sea) may be obtained by means of a continuous series of arcs of circles drawn with a radius of T miles from all points on the coast line. The outer limit of the territorial sea is formed by the most seaward arcs. In the case of a deeply indented coast, this line although undulating will form less of a zigzag than if it followed all the sinuosities of the coast because circles drawn from those points on the coast where the coast line is most irregular will not usually affect the outer limit of the seaward arcs. In the case of a straight coast, or if the straight base line method is followed, the arcs of circle method produces the same results as the strictly parallel line. The Commission considers that the arcs of circle method is to be recommended because it is likely to facilitate navigation. In any case, the Commission feels that States should be free to use this method without running the risk of being charged with a violation of international law by reason of the fact that the line does not follow all the sinuosities of the coast. Article 7 BAYS (Postponed) Article 8 PORTS For the purpose of delimiting the territorial sea, the outermost permanent harbour works which form an integral part of the harbour system shall be regarded as forming part of the coast. Comment This article is consistent with the positive law now in force. The waters of a port up to a line drawn between the outermost Permanent structures erected on the coast and jutting out to sea Article 9 ROADSTEADS Roadsteads which are used for the loading, unloading and anchoring of vessels and which are situated wholly or partly outside the outer The limit of the territorial sea are included in the territorial sea. coastal State must give due publicity to the limits of such roadsteads. Comment Apart from stylistic changes this article reproduces the 1930 text. The Commission considers that roadsteads situated outside the territorial sea should not be treated as inland waters. While appreciating that the coastal State must be able to exercise special supervisory and police rights in the roadsteads, the Commission thought it excessive to treat them as part of inland waters for otherwise the innocent passage of merchantmen through them might conceivably be prohibited. The fact that these waters are held to be part of the territorial sea constitutes sufficient protection for the rights of the State. The Commission considers that the article as it now stands reproduces the international law in force. Article 10 ISLANDS An island is an area of Every island has its own territorial sea. land surrounded by water which in normal circumstances is permanently above high-water mark. Comment This article applies both to islands situated in the high seas and to islands in the territorial sea. In the case of the latter their own territorial sea coincides partly with the territorial sea of the coast. The presence of the island will cause an outward bulge in the outer limit of the territorial sea. The same idea can be expressed in the following form: islands, wholly or partly situated in the territorial sea, will be taken into consideration for the purpose of determining the outer limit of the territorial sea. It is an essential condition that an island, to qualify for that name, must be an area of land which apart from abnormal circumstances is permanently above high-water mark. Accordingly, the following are not considered islands and have no territorial sea: (i) Elevations which emerge at low tide only. Even if an installation is built on such an elevation and if that installation (e. g., a lighthouse) is permanently above water level, the term island as defined in this article cannot be applied to such an elevation; (ii) Technical installations built on the sea-bed, such as installations used for the exploitation of the continental shelf. As is evident from the Commission's report on its fifth session (A/2456) it is nevertheless proposed that a safety zone around such installations should be recognized in view of their great vulnerability. The Commission does not think that a similar measure is required in the case of lighthouses. Article 11 GROUPS OF ISLANDS (Postponed) Article 12 DRYING ROCKS AND SHOALS Drying rocks and shoals which are wholly or partly within the territorial sea may be taken as points of departure for delimiting the territorial sea. Comment Drying rocks and shoals situated wholly or partly in the territorial sea are treated in the same way as islands. The limit of the territorial sea will accordingly make allowances for the presence of such drying rocks and will jut out to sea off the coast. Drying rocks and shoals however which are situated outside the territorial sea have no territorial sea of their own. The Commission considers that the above article expresses the international law in force. It was said that the terms of article 5 (under which base lines are not drawn to or from drying rocks and shoals) might perhaps not be compatible with article 12. The Commission does not consider them incompatible. The fact that for the purpose of determining the breadth of the territorial sea drying rocks and shoals are assimilated to islands does not imply that such rocks are treated as islands in every respect. If they were, then, so far as the drawing of base lines is concerned, and in particular in the case of shallow waters off the coast, the distance between base lines and the coast might conceivably be far in excess of that intended to be laid down by the method of these base lines. Article 13 DELIMITATION OF THE TERRITORIAL SEA IN STRAITS 1. In straits joining two parts of the high seas and separating two or more States, the limits of the territorial sea shall be ascertained in the same manner as on the other parts of the coast. 2. If the breadth of the straits referred to in paragraph 1 is less than the extent of the belt of territorial sea adjacent to the two coasts, the maritime frontier of the States in question shall be determined in conformity with article 15. 3. If the breadth of the straits exceeds the extent of the two belts of territorial sea, the waters lying between the two belts shall form part of the high seas. Nevertheless, if as a consequence of this delimitation an area of the sea not more than two miles in breadth should be entirely enclosed within the territorial sea, that area may, by agreement between the coastal States, be deemed to be part of the territorial sea. 4. Paragraph 1 and the first sentence of paragraph 3 of this article 415900-57- -24 shall be applicable to straits which join two parts of the high seas and which have only one coastal State in cases in which the breadth of the straits is greater than twice the breadth of that State's territorial sea. If as a consequence of this delimitation an area of sea not more than two miles across is entirely enclosed in the territorial sea, such area may be declared by the coastal State to form part of its territorial sea. Comment Within the straits with which this article deals the belts of sea along the coast constitute territorial sea in the same way as on any other part of the coast. Where the width throughout the straits exceeds the sum of the breadth of the two belts of territorial sea, there is a channel of high sea through the strait. On the other hand, if the width throughout the strait is less than twice the breadth of the two belts of territorial sea, the waters of the strait will be territorial waters. Other cases may arise: at certain places the width of the strait is greater than, while elsewhere it is equal to or less than, the total breadth of the two belts of territorial sea. In these cases portions of the high sea may be surrounded by territorial sea. It was thought that there was no valid reason why these enclosed portions of sea-which may be quite large in area should not be treated as the high seas. This view is confirmed by the consideration that in such circumstances the stretch of sea between the two coasts might be treated as two straits separated by open sea. If such areas are very small, however, practical reasons justify their assimilation to territorial sea; but it is proposed in the article to confine such exceptions to "enclaves" of sea not more than two nautical miles in width; this distance was chosen by the Commission in reliance on the precedent of the 1930 Conference, though it is not claimed that this is now an existing rule of positive law. If both shores belong to the same State, the issue of a delimitation of territorial waters can only arise if the strait is more than twice as broad as the territorial sea. In this case the rule set forth in paragraph 1 will apply. The question of enclaves dealt with in paragraph 3 may crop up in this situation too, in which case the enclave (if not more than two miles in breadth) may be treated as territorial sea. Article 14 DELIMITATION OF THE TERRITORIAL SEA AT THE MOUTH OF A RIVER (Postponed) DELIMITATION OF THE TERRITORIAL SEA OF TWO STATES THE COASTS OF WHICH ARE OPPOSITE EACH OTHER The boundary of the territorial sea between two States the coasts of which are opposite each other at a distance less than twice the |