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Printed for the Cabinet. July 1952
CONFIDENTIAL
CABINET OFFICE RECORD COPY
Copy No.72
C. (52) 247
21st July, 1952
CABINET
DELIMITATION OF TERRITORIAL WATERS: APPLICATION BY HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT OF THE PRINCIPLES LAID DOWN BY THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
MEMORANDUM BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Hague Court Judgment. On 18th December, 1951, the International Court of Justice at The Hague delivered a judgment in the Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries case in favour of Norway. This judgment was concerned with the manner in which territorial waters could be delimited (though not with their actual breadth), and, in delivering it, the Court laid down certain general principles of international law governing the matter.
2. These new principles differ radically from those which Her Majesty's Government have hitherto conceived to be the law. They entitle a country to reckon its territorial waters from a "base-line" joining outer headlands, islands and rocks, provided that the resulting line is "reasonable" and follows the general direction of the coast. Her Majesty's Government have in the past held that the belt of territorial waters should be measured from the low-water mark along the coast and across the entrances to bays at a point where they are not more than 10 miles wide.
3. Implications for the United Kingdom.-The question arises whether Her Majesty's Government should in future claim round the United Kingdom and round the Colonies, Protectorates and other territories overseas for which Her Majesty's Government are responsible, territorial waters measured according to the more liberal principles enunciated by The Hague Court. The effect would be to increase considerably the area of waters over which Her Majesty's Government could claim jurisdiction, including exclusive fishery rights. This question has been considered by the Home Affairs Committee, who have, however, decided that, in view of the importance of the issues at stake, it should be submitted to the Cabinet.
4. Divergent Views of Government Departments. In spite of prolonged discussion at the official and Ministerial level, it has not been possible to reach an agreed recommendation. Considerable pressure is being brought to bear by fisheries interests in Scotland to have The Hague Court principles applied round the Scottish coast in order to close larger areas to foreign trawlers. The Scottish Home Department are wholly in favour of extending our territorial limits in this way as early as possible in the interests of the Scottish inshore fishing industry. The White Fish Authority, whose responsibilities cover all sections of the British white fish industry, have recommended to the Government that action on these lines should be taken.
5. On the other hand, the immediate adoption of The Hague Court principles is opposed by the Admiralty and the Ministry of Transport on the ground that it is not yet clear that they are going to be generally adopted by other countries including particularly the United States, or that they will be approved by the International Law Commission of the United Nations. They believe that as a naval and maritime Power we should hold to our established policy of maintaining
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