The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf as a Mechanism to Prevent Encroachment upon the Area.

This article addresses how the CLCS can curb the situations prohibited by Article 137(1) of UNCLOS, i.e. encroachment upon the Area. The CLCS is mandated by Article 76 to consider the submitted information that coastal States intend to use in establishing limits of outer continental shelves. When the inconsistency of the Submission with Article 76 is mishandled by the CLCS, encroachment may materialize. Being critical of the CLCS's decisions as to when to disqualify a controversial Submission, the scope of disputes under the CLCS Rules of Procedure has been unreasonably narrowed by practice and rendered inconsistent with Article 76(1). Consequently, encroachment is not discouraged. The author argues that a proper interpretation and application of Article 76(1) by the CLCS, while taking Article 121 as context, may prevent such an encroachment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]