Romania has proven that it has the maturity and expertise required in international maritime delimitation law, which it is still open to share with other states, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said on the 11th anniversary of successful completion of the Black Sea delimitation before the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ), Nineoclock reported.

In a press statement released on Monday, Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasised that the ICJ decision of February 3, 2009 was an important diplomatic success, by recognising the jurisdiction and sovereign rights of Romania over 9,700 square kilometers of continental shelf and exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea.

“Together with my teammates, made up mainly of Romanian experts, I have demonstrated that work done professionally, perseveringly, argument by argument, can to lead our efforts to good effect and to produce results with national and international impact. The ruling issued by the court showed in its turn that Romania has the people and the ability to support their interests head high, in the highest international bodies and, finally, to win the case. Romania has proven that it has the maturity and expertise required in international maritime delimitation law, which it is still open to share with other states,” said Aurescu, Romania’s former agent before the International Court of Justice, 2004 to 2009, who led Romania’s pleadings in the case.

According to MAE, following this process, which lasted more than four years, Romania got almost 80% of the area of the continental shelf and exclusive economic area in the western Black Sea basin in dispute before ICJ, which represents the “first and only” extension of sovereign jurisdiction and sovereign rights of Romania after its Greater Union of 1918.

“The judgment of the court, adopted unanimously, which represented a first in the history of the ICJ, has become a point of reference for the settlement of international disputes peacefully in the field of maritime delimitation, being consistently cited in the jurisprudence of the ICJ and other international courts, as well as in the doctrine of international law,” the release reads.

The decision is said to have marked a series of firsts for both Romania and internationally, being the first in the history of the International Court of Justice unanimously passed by the 15 judges, after more than 40 years in which this complex bilateral political dispute could not be solved by negotiations.

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05.02.2020 09:25