Page 141 - MDSL Final

LEGAL CONTEXT
The Maritime Zones Law incorporates the terms of the two boundary
agreements between Sri Lanka and India, i.e. ‘The Agreement between
India and Sri Lanka on the boundary in Historic Waters between the two
countries and related matters of 1974, which sets out the boundary
between India and Sri Lanka in the waters from Adam’s Bridge to Palk
Strait’ and ‘The Agreement between Sri Lanka and India on the maritime
boundary between the two countries in the Gulf of Mannar, and the Bay
of Bengal of 1976.’ 77

The Maritime Zones Laws also provide that the President may declare
the Historic Waters of Sri Lanka. The Historic Waters of Sri Lanka have
been declared to comprise of the areas of sea in the Palk Strait, Palk
Bay, and the Gulf of Mannar up to Kalpitiya on the Western coast, and
Point Pedro on the Northern coast. Furthermore, it is declared that the
Historic Waters in the Palk Bay and Palk Strait shall form part of the
Internal Waters of Sri Lanka and that the Historic Waters in the Gulf of
Mannar shall form part of the Territorial Sea of Sri Lanka. In respect of
these areas they have been assigned to these two jurisdictional zones
arbitrarily by virtue of the Proclamation. 78

Historic Waters

The coastline of Sri Lanka does not have any large bays on its Eastern
coast, except for the China Bay in Trincomalee. As the mouth of this
bay is only three and a half miles, the waters of the bay are regarded as
internal waters. On the Northern and Northwestern coastline, it finds
the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar. The Palk Bay, however, does not
strictly conform to the definition of a bay as it does not entirely enclose
the sea on three sides so as to contain landlocked waters. It opens out
into the Palk Strait on one side and the Gulf of Mannar on the other
and is bordered by the Indian peninsula on the West, the island chain
of Adam’s Bridge on the South and the island of Sri Lanka on the East.
However, as the bay is regarded as a historic bay the provisions relating
to the drawing of baselines do not apply and its waters have the status
of historic waters.

Subsequently, by the Maritime Zones Law Proclamation of 1977, these
waters were declared the Historic Waters of Sri Lanka and they have
been further subdivided into the territorial sea and international waters.

To Nurture a Stable Environment at Sea 123