Australia's Extended Continental Shelf: What Implications for Antarctica?

Hemmings, Alan D.; Stephens, Tim

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Australia's Extended Continental Shelf: What Implications for Antarctica?

Public Law Review, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 9-16, 2009

Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 10/140

10 Pages Posted: 9 Dec 2010

See all articles by Alan D. Hemmings

Alan D. Hemmings

Gateway Antarctica Centre for Antarctic Studies and Research, University of Canterbury

Tim Stephens

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law

Date Written: December 7, 2010

Abstract

In 2008 the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) recognised the vast bulk of Australia’s submission concerning the outer limits of its continental shelf. Around half of the Australian continental shelf beyond 200 nm as approved by the CLCS is in the Southern Ocean in the Antarctic, including a large area projecting southwards into the Antarctic Treaty Area from Australia’s small sub-Antarctic islands, Heard and McDonald Islands. This comment considers how Australia should manage this sizeable new area of seabed estate within the letter and spirit of the Antarctic Treaty System, particularly in relation to prospecting for potentially valuable biological resources.

Keywords: Antarctica, law of the sea, continental shelf

JEL Classification: K10, K30, K32, K33

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Hemmings, Alan D. and Stephens, Tim, Australia's Extended Continental Shelf: What Implications for Antarctica? (December 7, 2010). Public Law Review, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 9-16, 2009, Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 10/140, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1721982