CYIL Vol. 7, 2016

CYIL 7 ȍ2016Ȏ

THE BAY OF BENGAL MARITIME ARBITRATION

1. Introduction International Border No. 947, Fulbari, India, 2011: at an ungodly hour of a foggy January morning, a father and his daughter endeavoured to reach their native Bangladesh by crossing the barbed border fence. 15 year old Felani Khatun’s father jumped through first, but Felani couldn’t. Her dress was stuck in the barbed fence. She screamed, which alerted the Indian soldier on duty. The sound of a gunshot engulfed the air as she turned silent forever. Her body dangled upside down for hours before it was taken down. Felani Khatun’s death is an exemplification of the strained relationship that India and Bangladesh share. Illegal migration, smuggling, the exchange of enclaves, river- water sharing disputes and entitlement over the sovereignty of a small island are the major points of contentions between the countries, among others. 1 Ongoing disputes are a cause of worry because they are like dormant volcanoes, which can erupt at the slightest of provocations. However, recently a sign of positivity was seen when both countries resolved a long standing dispute – over maritime border demarcation and the ownership of a small island called New Moore/South Talpatti. Initiated by Bangladesh, this dispute was resolved through an arbitration process with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) acting as the registry. 2 This landmark award under the international law of the sea is important because of the dose of optimism it added to India-Bangladesh relations. 2. Relevant Law The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was adopted in 1982 and is an international agreement regulating the usage of the oceans and its resources. The Convention consists of 320 Articles divided into 17 Parts, with nine Annexes. 3 As per the provisions of UNCLOS, the sea breadth that a State has sovereignty over is called its Territorial sea. This extends up to 12 nautical miles (nm) from the coasts of the State. 4 A State has Exclusive Economic rights up to 200 nm from its coast. 5 Moreover, when two nations are adjacent or opposite to one another, both countries are, in ordinary circumstances, entitled to territorial sea only up to an equidistant median line. 6 Continental shelf is generally the submerged prolongation 1 ISHITIAQ HOSSAIN, ‘Bangladesh-India Relations: Issues and Problems’ [1981] 21(11) Asian survey 1115. 2 Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary Arbitration between Bangladesh and India , Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), Award of 7 July 2014, 10, (Hereinafter ‘The Award’). 3 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (adopted 10 December 1982, ratified 14 November 1994) last accessed 1 May 2016.

4 Ibid ., article 3. 5 Ibid ., article 57. 6 Ibid ., article 15.

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