The method of delimitation of maritime boundaries changed with time. Between 1969 and 1982 the International Court of Justice decided these matters upon 1958 Geneva conventions and international custom. The years 1982 to 1994 saw entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the year 2009 — the landmark Black Sea ruling (Romania v Ukraine, judgment of 3 February 2009).

While the method is straightforward, the delimitation itself is a fairly complicated process. The article deals with that second phase. The author explains the concept of special circumstances — a rather indistinct notion composed of geographical (mostly) and non-geographical factors.

The article analyses in this context some recent delimitation cases regarding the Black Sea and the Carribbean (Nicaragua v Colombia), and the Bay of Bengal case, where the judgment was delivered by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Bangladesh v Myanmar, judgment of 14 March 2012).

The continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (NM) accounts for a great value for States. The development of technologies and science has allowed the human economic and scientific activities on the deep parts of the ocean floor. The continental shelf is rich with living resources. The living resources of continental shelf are also valuable, since they possess valuable genetic resources for pharmaceuticals and commercial products. Many valuable non-living resources are situated on the continental shelf, including hydrocarbons (oil and gas) and minerals (e.g. manganese, nickel, cobalt, gold, diamonds, copper, tin, titanium, iron, chromium and galena). Therefore, States have spent significant resources on conducting a research and exploring their continental shelf and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) has received seventy-seven submissions and issued twenty-nine recommendations pursuant to Article 76 (8) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). With the expected improvement of technological capabilities in decades to come, especially, in deep waters, the continental shelf will be explored more thoroughly and perhaps will meet no technological limits.