THE CONTINENTAL SHELF: A STUDY WITH REFERENCE TO THE BANGLADESH-INDIA SITUATION

This article reviews the law and practice of continental shelf delimitation with specific attention to the Bay of Bengal and the Bangladesh–India situation. It outlines the evolution from the Truman Proclamation and Geneva Conventions to the 1982 UNCLOS framework, clarifying coastal state rights over seabed resources beyond the territorial sea. The analysis explains key doctrines—equidistance/special circumstances and equitable principles/relevant circumstances—and how modern tribunals balance them. It then examines technical methods: baseline selection, geodetic accuracy, concavity effects, and proportionality tests comparing coastal lengths to area allocation. By mapping geographic features and historic claims, the study shows why strict equidistance can yield disproportionate outcomes in concave coasts, motivating adjustments to achieve an equitable result. The article closes with policy implications for cooperative exploration, joint development zones, and confidence-building in hydrocarbon surveys.

The body proceeds in four steps. First, it sets the normative background: continental shelf rights are inherent and do not depend on occupation, while delimitation between opposite or adjacent coasts must achieve an equitable solution under Articles 74/83 of UNCLOS. Second, it details technical construction of provisional lines, including median lines from normal and straight baselines, treatment of low-tide elevations, and the role of islands. It illustrates how concavity in the Bengal coast can “pinch” a state’s shelf under pure equidistance, requiring correction through angle-bisector or proportionality checks. Third, it turns to state practice and jurisprudence—North Sea, Libya/Malta, Tunisia/Libya, Gulf of Maine—deriving operational tests that weigh geography more than geology. Fourth, it sketches cooperative avenues: data sharing on bathymetry, coordinated licensing windows to avoid unitization disputes, and environmental safeguards for offshore drilling. For Bangladesh and India, the paper recommends a staged approach: agree a provisional boundary for immediate licensing certainty, pursue joint development in overlapping prospective zones, and establish a technical sub-commission for monitoring. The conclusion emphasizes that legal method and technical precision are complements: transparent reasoning reduces the risk of escalation and supports sustainable resource governance.