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MEMORIAL OF THE LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA MEMOIRE DE LA JAMAHIRIYA ARABE LIBYENNE VOLUME 1 INTRODUCTION 1. This Memorial is fiIed in accordance with the Order made by the Vice-President of the Court in the present case on 27 July 1982 fixing 26 April 1983 as the the-limit for the filing of Mernorials by the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (hereinafter referred to as "Libya"') and the Republic of Malta (hereinafter referred to as "Malta"). The Order was made having regard to Article 40 and Article 48 of the Statute of the Court and to Article 13, paragraph 3, Article 44, and Article 46 of the Rules of Court, and taking into account the Special Agreement between Libya and MaIta signed at Valletta on 23 May 1976 by which the Parties agreed to have recourse to the Court concerning the question of the delimitation of the areas of continental shelf appertaining to each of the two States. 2. The Special Agreement was signed on 23 May 1976' and Instru- ments of Ratification were exchanged in Valletta on 20 March 1982'. In accordance with Article IV of the Special Agreement, it was jointly noti- fied to the Court on 26 July 1982 by letter dated 19 July 1982 from the Secretary of the People's Committee of The Popular Bureau for Foreign Liaison of Libya and the Minister of Foreign Afïairs of Malta'. The notification was filed in the Registry of the Court on the same day. 3. The joint letter of notification transmitted a certified copy of the Special Agreement in both the Arabic and English languages. Under the terms of the Special Agreement, the Arabic and English texts are equally authentic. 4. The English text of the Special Agreement reads as follows5: ' The ttrm "Libya" refers to the Statc of Libya and its political institutions, whaievtr thcir form at thc relevant time and, as may appcar from the contcxt, also to the territory which now bclongs ta the Socialist Pcoplc's Libyan Arab Jarnahiriya. It should also be notcd that the "Libyan Arab Republic" as rcfcrrcd to in the Spccial Agreement becamc ihc Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on 2 March 1917. 'A copy of cach of the Arabic and English tcxts of the Special Agrccrnent is attached as Annex 1. ' A copy of' thc Instrurncnts of Ratification is attached as Annex 2. ' A copy of this lcttcr is attachcd as Annex 3. ' Rcfcrcnccs in this Mcrnorial to the tcxt of the Spccial Agreement are to thc English tcxt. 20 CONTINENTAL SHELF r2-41 "SPECIAL AGREEMENTBETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTOF THE REPUBLICOF MALTAAND THE GOVERNMENTOF THE LIBYAN ARABREPUBLIC FOR THE SUBMISSIONTO THE INTERNATIONAL COURTOF JUSTICEOF DIFFERENCE [See pp. 5-6, supra] 5. Article 1 of the Special Agreement defines the role assigned to the Court in this case'. It requests the Court to decide: "What principles and rules of international law are applicable to the delimitation of the area of the continental shelf which apper- tains to the Republic of Malta and the area of continental shelf which appertains to the Libyan Arab Republic ...". Article 1 also requests the Court to decide - "... how in practice such principles and rules can be applied by the two Parties in this particular case in order that they ma'y without difficulty delimit such areas by an agreement as proGdedin Article -. III." 6. Article 11 of the Special Agreement deals with the procedural aspects of the case in the manner envisioned by Article 46( 1 ) of the Rules of Court. In addition to providing for the time-limirsfor the simultaneous subrnission of written pleadings, Article II(3) states that "... the question of the order of speaking at the oral hearings shall be decided by mutual agreement between the Parties ...". In this connection, the Maltese m in-' ister of Development and the Libyan Minister of State for Revolutionary Command Council Affairs exchanged letters on 23 May 1976 by which the Maltese Minister of Development indicated that at the oral hearings the representatives of the Republic of Malta would speak first and the Libyan Minister of State indicated his acceptance of this proposal. Cop ies of these letters are attached as Annex 4. 7. In accordance with Article 49 of the Rules of Court, this Mernorial is divided into the following parts: Part 1 contains a statement of the facts beginning with a brief outline of the history of Libya and Malta and'followed by the general geographical, geomorphological and geological setting.of the dispute. Against this setting, the historical background to the dispute is then taken up. Part 11 contains a statement of the law, including an analysis of the provisions of the Special Agreement. ' The provisions of the Spccial Agreement will bc discusscd in Chaptcr 5 below. [dl MEMORlAL OF LlBYA 21 In Part III, the Memorial applies the principles and rules of international law discussed in Pari II to the physical factors and relevant circumstances of this case. Following Part III appear Libya's Submissions to the Court made in accordance with Article 49 of the Rules of Court. PART I THE FACTUAL BACKGROUND CHAPTER 1 LIBYA AND MALTA: HISTORICAL ASPECTS 1101 Libya became an independent State on 24 December 1951 and Malta achieved independence on 24 September 1964. Although the his- tories'of Libya and Malta may,only have an.indirect bearing at this stage in the pleadings, a brief look at the history of each country up to indepen- dence as we1l.a~of the subsequent- relations ktween them does provide a useful background to an understanding of the dispute'. 1.02 ' In view of the long history of each State it is notable that, since Malta's independence, and particularly since the,early 1970s, Libya and Malta have enjoyed a close rel;itionship marked by many forms of assis- tance and cooperation. Libya considers that this dispute and some of the friction that has.resu1ted from il mu,st be,viewed in the general context of cooperation; assistance and goodwill that has characterised relations ,between the two States. 1 .O3 During the Classical and pre-Classical periods, that is during.the time when Greece, Carthage and Rome dominated the Mediterranean world, the experiences of Liba and Malta were quite similar .in many respects. However, from the middle of the 1 i th Century AD, their histo- ries started to diverge. 1.04. After a period of Islamic rule and Norman occupation, Malta fell under Spanish iule - in 1282. For almost 250 years it was controlled by Viceroys in Sicily who were appointed by the sovereigns of ~ragonand, Iàter, of Castile, until charles V came to the Spanish throne. Under the Aragonese, Malta became an integral elehent in the ~ragonesetrading empire which stretched from the northern Mediterranean shores down to North Africa. It also became an important corsairing base, acting as a sort of border defense of Aragon's Sicilian possessionsz. 1.05 The Maltese Islands underwent a dram~icchange in domestic agriculture during this time, turning ftom food productiv to cotton pro- duction, with most of the cotton being exported to Sicily and Aragon. In return, the Islands became dependent on Sicily foi f,md, a pattern of dependen~y~thatwas to continue for hundreds of years2. Tripolitania, dominated by the city of Tripoli, had become a major outpost of the trans- ' Deiailed accounts can be.found in: BLOUET. Brian, The Siory of Malia, .Valletta, Progrcss, 1981. WRIGHT,John. Libya. London, Benn, 1969. ABUN-NASR,Jamil M., A Hisrory the Maghrib. Cambridge, ~ambrid&univer;ity Press, 197 1. GODECHOT,Jacques, His~oirede Malle. Paris. Presses Universitaires de France, 1981. * BRAUDEL.Fernand, The Mediierrane~inand the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. London, Fontana/Collins. 1972. 26 CONnNENTAL SHELF [81 Saharan trade routes that brought goods from West and Central Africa and the Fezzan for trade with the North African littoral and, via Cyrena- ica, with Egypt and the Middle East, as well as later on with Europe. 1 .O6 At the start of the 16th Century, Spain and Portugal sought to extend their control over the Mediterranean and to establish themselves in Africa. In 1 5 10, Spain occupied Tripoli. Meanwhile the Ottoman Empire expanded westwards into North Africa, appearing in Egypt in 15 17. In 1523, the Ottomans forced the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem out of their island fortress of Rhodes and, as a resuit, Charles V offered Malta to the Knights as a new base in 1530, provided that they also took on the defence of Tripoli against the advance of Ottoman sea power. The Order reluctantly accepted, but in 1551 it gave up the futile attempt to hold Tripoli and withdrew definitively to Malta. 1 .O7 In 1565 came the unsuccessful Great Siege of Maita by Ottoman forces. The failure of the siege, together with the Battle of Lepanto, persuaded the Ottoman Empire that naval control of the Central and Western Mediterranean was beyond its power and Malta settled down to become an active corsairing base where the Maltese corsairs were joined by privateers from western and southern Europe. As time went by, the major naval powers of France and England began to take an interest in Malta, particularly in the 18th Century. 1.08 By the opening of the 19th Century, the picture had changed. Corsairing ended as Mediterranean trading patterns became controlled by Britain, France and Holland. Imperia1 considerations began to dorninate the scene, for the Mediterranean was seen increasingly as an essential pathway to lndia and the East. 1.O9 ln 1798 came the Napoleonic invasion of the Maltese Islands, as a preliminary to the invasion of Egypt.

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