The delimitation agreement between timor- leste and australia as a result of the compulsory conciliation

Abstract

On March 6, 2018, Timor Leste and Australia signed the maritime boundary treaty. This treaty comes true after nearly thirty years since the Timor Gap Treaty was signed between Australia and Indonesia. That agreement has marked relations between Australia and Timor Leste since the latter's independence. Australia’s carve-out from the maritime boundary jurisdiction of international courts has forced Timor Leste to activate for the first time the compulsory conciliation mechanism within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The outcome of this dispute settlement mechanism is embodied in an agreement that divides the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone between both States, but whose lateral limits are subject to future adjustments upon certain events.