drying rock

n. a rock in the sea whose exposed surface at low tide is used as a marker for surveying or establishing legal boundaries. Also low-tide elevation. Subjects: English, Law, Jargon

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Citations: 1997 Jawad Salim Al Arayed Case Concerning Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions Between Qatar And Bahrain, Counter-Memorial (Intl. Court of Justice) (Dec. 1): The Court referred there to the case of a “low-tide elevation (drying rock)"…without adopting a position on whether, and in what circumstances, such a feature might be taken into account as a basepoint for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea.…The first reports of the International Law Commission reveal significant terminological and conceptual variations, both in English and in French.…The terminology accepted today—“low-tide elevations,” “hauts-fonds découvrants"—was first established at the Geneva Conference of 1958. 1998 Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans 1998-99 Estimates: A Report on Plans and Priorities (Can.) (Mar. 24) p. 34-5: Updated information on headlands, offshore islands and low tide elevations (drying rocks) will improve the accuracy of maritime baselines from which the territorial sea, contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone are drawn. 2000 Prosper Weil The maritime delimitation process (Intl. Court of Justice) (June 14) “Uncorrected CR 2000/15 (translation)”: Terminologically: the “drying rocks,” “shoals” and “rocks awash” formerly spoken of have given way to “low-tide elevations,” just as in French the «sèches», «fonds affleurants» and «fonds couvrants et découvrants» have given way to «hauts-fonds découvrants». The terminology is now settled. Consequently, we can only regret that from time to time our opponents continue to have recourse to out-of-date terms no longer recognized in international law.… Conceptually, today we know precisely what a low-tide elevation is. A low-tide elevation is defined in Article 13 of the 1982 Convention, to which the two Parties ascribe customary force, as “a naturally formed area of land which is surrounded by and above water at low tide but submerged at high tide.” 2004 Edward F. Maroney Barnstable Patriot (Hyannis, Mass.) (June 4) “Is Cape Wind project on the rocks?”: At a stakeholders meeting convened Wednesday by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis, many of the experts heard a new phrase for the first time: “drying rocks.” It was Arthur Pugsley, an environmental analyst with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office, who described the features as “rocks that poke above mean low water” that are used in determining boundaries under an international treaty.

Posted 9 Jun 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend