The difference between continental shelf projects and maritime boundaries delimitation are first spelt out in their definitions as contained in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),
Under the Convention, the Continental Shelf is defined in Part VI, Article 76 thus:
The continental shelf of a coastal State comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance.
The Legal Continental Shelf is therefore the equivalent of the geological continental margin which comprises the geological continental shelf, continental slope and the continental rise and extends into water depths of between 4,000 and 4,500m.
A coastal State does not need any express proclamation to own the continental shelf within the 200 nautical miles (the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)); it belongs to the coastal State ab initio ipso facto. However, where the continental margin extends beyond the 200 nautical mile limit. a coastal State must make an express proclamation by delineating the outer limits points of this margin and making a submission to the United Nations specialized agency, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLC) to evaluate and make recommendations to the coastal State as to the authenticity of these points. The important point to note here is that the Submissions by coastal States and the Recommendations of CLCS are done without prejudice to maritime delimitation.
In Ghana, all continental shelf projects are under the Ghana National Continental Shelf Delineation Project that was established as far back as 2006 under the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
Delimitation of maritime boundaries on the other hand, refers to the division of maritime jurisdiction between adjacent or opposite States through bilateral or multilateral negotiations and finds its roots in Articles 15, 74 and 83 of UNCLOS. The technical methodology widely adopted for delimitation in recent times, is the principle of Equidistance. When negotiations fail to resolve a delimitation issue, the UNCLOS body to refer to for adjudication is the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), headquartered in Hamburg, Germany.
In Ghana, negotiations for the delimitation of the maritime boundaries with Togo, Benin and Nigeria, and the implementation of the ITLOS Ruling with Cote d’Ivoire, is handled by the Ghana Boundary Commission under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. The Board of the Commission was inaugurated last year under the Chairmanship of the sector Minister, Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor.
In conclusion, continental shelf issues are purely technical and handled by the CLCS who are experts in the area of earth sciences and elected on the basis of regional representation by States Parties to UNCLOS, while maritime boundary delimitation, though technical in nature, is predominantly legal and is adjudicated by a 21 panel of judges of ITLOS, in the case of a dispute.
