유엔해양법협약 및 관련 규칙의 해석을 통해 본 대륙붕한계위원회의 역할과 한계

1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea made the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf while introduced the renewed provisions of the continental shelf's definition. According to the UNCLOS, The Limits of the shelf established by a coastal State on the basis of the Commission's recommendations shall be final and binding. The action of the Commission, however, shall not prejudice matters related to the delimitation of the boundaries between States with opposite or adjacent coasts. The Commission also shall not consider the submission of States without the prior consent given by all the States in case there is unsolved disputes of land or maritime exist. These limitations result from the following facts that Commission is not a judicial body having judical jurisdiction but a scientific and technical body recommending the limits of the shelf. Additionally, the fact that there are not legal experts in the member of the Commission shows that the Commission is not qualified for interpreting the law. Thus, the Commission shall not exceed his authority concerning the submission in related to the law interpretation. Commission shall detain a decision in case the legal interpretation becomes a issue about whether the maritime feature such as Japan‘s Okinotori has the continental shelf.