The legal status of the Gulf of Sirte in international law.

Abdulgader. Emberesh, Elhagi (1991) The legal status of the Gulf of Sirte in international law. PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

In 1973 Libya claimed the Gulf of Sirte. Its claim was based on historic and vital interests and it stated that the Gulf was part of Libyan internal waters over which Libya exerts full sovereignty and that the Gulf was an historic or vital bay. The thesis analyses the Libyan historic and/or vital bay claim over the Gulf. Although the doctrine of historic and/or vital bays is not codified, it is not a new doctrine in international law. It is argued that, as an exception to the general rules on bays, the coastal State has the right, by virtue of historic and vital interests, to claim and appropriate a bay adjacent to its coast. Chapter one deals with the scope of the research including the legal significance of the claim to Libya. The chapter discusses the methodology used and reviews the 1973 Declaration and international reaction to it, including the US-Libyan incidents. The geographical and historical background of the Gulf of sirte are also reviewed. In chapter two the evolution of the concepts of bays, historic bays and waters in international law are discussed. The chapter deals with definitional issues, the evolution and codification of the law of bays, and assess the law applicable in the field of historic and/or vital bays, and the requirements of customary international law. Chapter three analyses the Libyan immemorial usage and the effective Libyan exercise of sovereignty over the Gulf of sirte. Chapter four discusses the concept of acquiescence and whether there has been international acquiescence in the Libyan claim. Chapter five deals with the concept of protest and its application to the Libyan claim. It analyses the protests made at the Libyan claim and discusses a number of the protests made by States which have made similar claims to that of Libya. The issue of re~!procity is examined prior to detailed consideration and evaluation of the protests. Chapter six discusses the vital bay theory in a theoretical context, in state practice and its implementation by the tribunals. It also analyses the Libyan vital interest9s in the Gulf of Sirte and assesses the Libyan vital bay claim. Finally, chapter seven provides an overview of the Libyan historic and vital bay claim over the Gulf of sirte in a regional framework and in the context of the changing law of the sea. Proposals are made concerning the formulation of new rules when necessary on the codification of existing rules, on State practice and emerging trends relating to historic and/or vital bays. It is recommended that special attention should be given to the legitimate and genuine interests and needs of coastal States and the proposals made by Developing States in this regard.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	23 Oct 2023 09:56
Last Modified:	23 Oct 2023 10:07
DOI:	10.17638/03175818
Copyright Statement:	Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis and any accompanying data (where applicable) are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge.
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3175818