Indonesia: Law No. 16 of 2023, Related to the Continental Shelf

In April 2023, Indonesia passed Law No. 16 of 2023, related to the continental shelf which supersedes Law No. 1 of 1973 which was based on the 1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf. The new continental shelf law aligns Indonesia’s domestic legislation with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( unclos ). The new law also reaffirms the practice of using separate lines for Exclusive Economic Zone ( eez ) and continental shelf delimitations and explicitly respects previously negotiated delimitation treaties with neighbouring States. However, there are some rules that might potentially diverge from the general practices of States particularly in relation to artificial islands, platforms, and submarine cables and pipelines. This article examines significant aspects and concerns associated with this legislation.