Law of the Sea Dispute Settlement in the Eastern Mediterranean with Particular Reference to the Delimitation of Palestine’s Maritime Boundaries: Negotiation, Conciliation, Arbitration, or Adjudication?

Palestine currently holds contractual relations with 167 States under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. unclos ’s dispute settlement mechanisms might vary depending on the process States have opted for. In order to pick a preferred mechanism, a State Party should deposit a declaration with the UN Secretary-General. As it did not file any such declaration, Palestine is deemed to have accepted arbitration by default. However, Palestine can still deposit a declaration to choose other procedures and therefore open the possibility to resort to the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, or a special arbitration. Yet, the neighboring States have different approaches. While Egypt has cast opposition to arbitration regarding boundary delimitation, Israel is not a Party to unclos and does not recognize its settlement mechanisms. How can disputes be resolved? Would conciliation work? What are exit channels? This article answers such questions.