INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE MARJTIME DELIMITATION BETWEEN NICARAGUA AND HONDURAS IN THE CARIBBEAN SEA (NICARAGUA v. HONDURAS) REJOINDER OF THE~ REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS VOLUMEI 13 AUGUST 2003 v CHAPTER 6: GEOGRAPHIC FACTORS .................................................... 107 A. Cabo Gracias a Dios: Where the Land Boundary Meets the Sea ................................................................................................. 108 B. The Coasts of the Parties that Face the Maritime Area to be Delimited ....................................................................................... 111 C. The Islands and Rocks oflmportance to This Case which Lie in Front ofthe Land Boundary Terminus ...................................... 113 D. The Non-Relevance of Shallow Geomorphological Sea-Floor Features ......................................................................................... 116 CHAPTER 7: OBSERVATIONS ON THE NICARAGUAN LINE ................... 119 A. The Technical Characteristics ofthe Nicaraguan Line .................. 119 B. The Nicaraguan Line Runs on the Wrong Side of the Honduran Islands Situated between 15° N. Latitude and 15°15' N. Latitude ......................................................................... 120 C. The Nicaraguan Line Gives No Weight to Honduran Islands North of 15°15' N. Latitude .......................................................... 121 D. The Bisector of Coastal Fronts Presented by Nicaragua Is Based upon a Flawed Assessment of Coastal Fronts and Delimitation Methods .................................................................... 122 CHAPTER 8: THE HONDURAN LINE ....................................................... 125 A. The Question of How the Boundary Should Account for the Accretion and Erosion at the Mouth of the River Coco ................ 125 B. The Technical Characteristics of the Boundary that Honduras Proposes ......................................................................................... 127 C. Consideration of Relevant Case Precedent.. .................................. 128 D. The Test of the Equitableness of the Honduran Line against the Equidistance Line .................................................................... 130 E. The Question whether the Honduran Line "cuts-off' the Projection ofthe Coastal Front ofNicaragua ................................ 131 CHAPTER 9: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ......................................... 133 SUBMISSIONS ........................................................................................... 135 LIST OF ANNEXES IN VOLUME 11 ........................................................... 137 iii CONTENTS List of Colour Plates in Volume I ........................................................... vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... 1 A. The Subject of the Dispute before the Court ..................................... 1 B. The Nicaraguan Claim ....................................................................... 2 C. Nicaragua's Tac:tic with Regard to Effectivités ................................. 4 (1) The Relevance of the Islands ..................................................... 4 (2) The Alleged Critical Date .......................................................... 6 (3) Relevant Circumstances ............................................................. 6 (4) Equitable Principles and an Existing Boundary ......................... 7 D. The Inequitable Nature ofNicaragua's Own Approach .................... 7 E. The Starting Point .............................................................................. 8 F. The Structure of the Rejoinder .......................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2: HONDURAS' CASE IN LAW .................................................. 11 Introduction .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 11 A. Sovereignty and Delimitation in the Present Case .......................... 14 ( 1) Nicaragua' s Ambivalent Y et Inconsistent Position Regarding the Islands North of the 15th Parallel (14°59.8') .... 14 (2) The Legal Principles Applicable to the Islands North of the 15th Parallel (14°59.8') ............................................................. 17 B. The Relationship between Law and Equity to be Applied to the Delimitation ............................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 3: THE UT/ POSSJDETIS JURIS ................................................. 29 General Observations .............................................................................. 29 A. The Characteristics of the Uti Possidetis Juris in Spanish America ........................................................................................... 31 B. Expert Opinion ................................................................................ 35 C. Application of the uti possidetis to the Islands and Maritime Areas now claimed by Nicaragua .................................................... 41 D. Jurisprudence Confirms the Application ofthe Principle to Islands and Maritime Are as ............................................................. 45 E. Acceptance by Nicaragua of the Uti Possidetis Juris in Its Application Against Colombia ........................................................ 50 IV F. Conclusions ..................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER 4: NICARAGUA HAS NO EFFECTIVITÉS OR SOVEREIGNTY ÜVER THE ISLANDS ......................................................... 53 Introduction ............................................................................................. 53 A. Sovereignty and Effectivités: the Applicable Legal Principles ........ 55 B. Nicaragua's Evidence Does Not Support lts Claim To Sovereignty over the Islands ............................................................ 56 C. Nicaragua's Silence: The Matters on which It Provides No Evidence of Effectivites ................................................................... 57 D. Nicaragua's Evidence asto Effectivités ........................................... 58 (1) Nicaragua's Oil and Gas Concessions ..................................... 59 Nicaragua's Consistent Practice ....................................... 60 Nicaragua's Practice Confirms That It Ras Recognised the 15th Parallel As the Northem Limit ofits Oil Concessions ...................................................................... 64 Conclusions on Nicaragua's Oil Concessions .................. 66 (2) Nicaragua's Practice in Relation to Fisheries .......................... 66 (3) Recognition by Third States ofNicaraguan Sovereignty ......... 69 (4) Nicaragua's Cartographie Evidence ........................................ 70 (5) Nicaragua's Arguments asto the Turtle Fisheries Dispute ...... 71 E. Conclusions ..................................................................................... 76 CHAPTER 5: HONDURAN EFFECTIVITÉS AND SOVEREIGNTY ÜVER THE ISLANDS .................................................................................. 79 A. Honduran Oil and Gas Concessions ................................................ 81 B. Honduras Regulates Fisheries Activities North ofthe 15th Parallel ............................................................................................. 85 C. Hon duran Cartography .................................................................... 94 D. Honduran Administration and Legislation in the Maritime and Insular Areas North of the 15th Parallel ........................................... 95 E. The Application and Enforcement of Honduran Civil and Criminal Laws in the Area North of the 15th Parallel.. .................... 98 F. Honduran Regulation oflmmigration ............................................. 98 G. Honduran Military and Naval Patrols and Search and Rescue ........ 99 H. Honduran Public Works and Scientific Surveys ........................... 101 I. Recognition by Third States and Other Entities ............................ 103 J. Conclusions ................................................................................... 105 vii LIST 0}' COLOUR PLATES IN VOLUME 1* Facing page Plate 32 Map ofPetroleum Concessions, General Directorate ofNatural Resources, Nicaraguan Ministry ofEconomy, Industry and Commerce, March 1969 ............................................................................ 62 Plate 33 Extracts from "Petroleum Exploration Activities in Nicaragua" Reports, Nicaraguan Institute of Energy, June 1994 and June 1995 a) Map ofOil and Gas Prospectivity in Nicaragua (from Booklet of June 1994) b) Map of Oil and Gas Prospectivity in Nicaragua (from Booklet of June 1995) ................................ 62 Plate 34 Honduran Graphie Representation of Oil Concessions Granted by Nicaragua a) Union III and Union IV b) Union V and Union VI c) Combined Graphie Showing Area Granted in Hectares .................................................................................. 66 Plate 35 Location of Coco Marina within Honduran Oil Concession Are a ..................................................................... 84 Plate 36 Location of Coco Marina Oil Concession Granted by Honduras (within Territorial Waters ofBobel Cay) ......................................................................... 84 Plate 37 Geographical Features in the Maritime Area N ortheast of Honduras Referred to in the Honduran Constitutions of 1957, 1965 and 1982