A legal analysis of historic waters under international law: Nile river dispute between Ethiopia and other riparian countries mainly Egypt

Abstract

Since the phrase historic bays have been used more frequently than historic waterways in the past, case law on the former has emerged, in contrast to the essentially nonexistent case law on the latter. The issue of historic rights over waters has been a tricky topic for long in the law of the sea. This is because even some of the basic definitions have been vague and interchangeably used in the past. Following the adoption of the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC), which resulted in the endorsement of a significant expansion of the coastal state's jurisdiction and the consolidation of the maritime zone's jurisdictional regime, the contemporary relevance of historic titles and rights has been questioned and due to the existence of historical right over waters, many tensions and disputes regarding the validity of such titles has been ongoing for a long time. This idea is the most challenging legal challenge for coastal states to preserve their title to their marine zones if their territory is lost owing to sea level rise under existing international law of the sea. This research examines historic rights and historic titles in the law of the sea and suggests a way of clarification of these concepts with contributions of international tribunals.