from them has received general international recognition. The United States has taken the position that "similar installations" are those that are permanent, substantial and actually used for safety of navigation and that "general international recognition" includes recognition by the major maritime users over a period of time.
Effect on Other States. Article 7(6) provides that a State may not apply the system of straight baselines in such a manner as to cut off the territorial sea of another State from the high seas or an EEZ. In addition, artide 8(2) provides that, where the establishment of a straight baseline has the effect of enclosing as internal waters areas which had not previously been considered as such, a right of innocent passage as provided in the Convention shall exist in those waters.
Article 35(a) has the same effect with respect to the right of transit passage through straits.
Unstable Coastlines. As provided in article 7(2), where a coastline, which is deeply indented and cut into or fringed with islands in its immediate vicinity, is also highly unstable because of the presence of a delta or other natural conditions, the appropriate basepoints may be located along the furthest seaward extent of the low-water line. The straight baseline segments drawn joining these basepoints remain effective, notwithstanding subsequent regression of the low-water line, until the baseline segments are changed by the coastal State in accordance with international law reflected in the Convention.
Other Baseline Rules
Low-tide Elevations. Under article 13, the low-water line on a low-tide elevation may be used as the baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea only where that elevation is situated wholly or partly at a distance not exceeding the breadth of the territorial sea measured from the mainland or an island. Where a low-tide elevation is wholly situated at a distance exceeding the breadth of the territorial sea from the mainland or an island, even if it is within that distance measured from a straight baseline or bay closing line, it has no territorial sea of its own. Lowtide elevations can be mud flats, or sand bars.
Combination of Methods. Article 14 authorizes the coastal State to determine each baseline segment using any of the methods permitted by the Convention that suit the specific geographic condition of that segment, i.e., the methods for drawing normal baselines, straight baselines, or closing lines (discussed below).
Harbor Works. In accordance with article 11, only those permanent manmade harbor works which form an integral part of a harbor system, such as jetties, moles, quays, wharves, breakwaters and sea walls, may be used as part of the baseline for delimiting the territorial sea.
Mouths of Rivers. If a river flows directly into the sea without forming an estuary, pursuant to article 9, the baseline shall be a straight line drawn across the mouth of the river between points on the low-water line of its banks. If the river forms an estuary, the baseline is determined under the provisions relating to juridical bays.
BAYS AND OTHER FEATURES
Juridical Bays
A "juridical bay" is a bay meeting the criteria of article 10(2). Such a bay is a well-marked indentation on the coast whose penetration is in such proportion to the width of its mouth as to contain land-locked waters and constitute more than a mere curvature of the coast. An indentation is not a juridical bay unless its area is as large as, or larger than, that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across the mouth of that indentation.
For the purpose of measurement, article 10(3) provides that the indentation is that area lying between the low-water mark around the shore of the indentation and a line joining the low-water mark of its natural entrance points. Where, because of the presence of islands, an indentation has more than one mouth, the semi-circle shall be drawn on a line as long as the sum total of the lengths of the lines across the different mouths. Islands within an indentation shall be included as if they were part of the water area of the indentation for satisfaction of the semi-circle test.
Under article 10(4), if the distance between the low-water marks of the natural entrance points of a juridical bay of a single State does not exceed 24 miles, the juridical bay may be defined by drawing a closing line between these two low-water marks, and the waters enclosed thereby shall be considered as internal waters. Where the distance between the low-water marks exceed 24 miles, a straight baselineof 24 miles shall be drawn within the juridical bay in such a manner as to enclose the maximum area of water that is possible within a line of that length.
Historic Bays
Article 10(6) exempts so-called historic bays from the rules described above. To meet the standard of customary international law for establishing a claim to a historic bay, a State must demonstrate its open, effective, long-term, and continuous exercise of authority over the bay, coupled with acquiescence by foreign States in the exercise of that authority. An actual showing of acquiescence by foreign States in such a claim is required, as opposed to a mere absence of opposition. The United States has in the past claimed Delaware Bay and the Chesapeake Bay as historic. These bodies also satisfy the criteria for juridical bays reflected in the Convention.
Charts and Publication
Article 16(1) requires that the normal baseline be shown on large-scale nautical charts, officially recognized by the coastal State. Alternatively, the coastal State must provide a list of geographic coordinates specifying the geodetic data. The United States depicts its baseline on official charts with scales ranging from 1:80,000 to about 1:200,000. Drying reefs used for
