Straight Baselines

Straight baselines are lines joining appropriate points along a coast, used in place of the low-water line to measure the breadth of the territorial sea and other zones. UNCLOS Article 7 permits them where the coastline is deeply indented and cut into, or where a fringe of islands lies in its immediate vicinity. The lines must not depart appreciably from the general direction of the coast, and the sea areas inside must be closely linked to the land to qualify as internal waters. They may not be drawn to or from low-tide elevations unless lighthouses or similar installations are built on them. The ICJ approved the method in the Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries case (1951).