The legal nature of historical titles to maritime areas

The subject of the research is the historical titles to maritime spaces in contemporary international law, its relationship with the category of acquisitive prescription, and the features that distinguish legal titles to historical waters from historical titles to land territories. In the issue of assigning historical maritime spaces to states, an attempt to incorporate the Roman concept of "prescriptive title" into international law can be traced, in the form of "immemorial prescription" or "usucapio." These attempts date back to the works of H. Grotius and are based on the viewpoint that the open sea beyond the territorial sea belt of a state is res communis, and the occupation of closed waters, in relation to this, requires additional legitimacy through the passage of time. Meanwhile, the research conducted by the UN Secretariat concerning the institution of historical bays and historical waters does not support such an approach, and the doctrine shows a tendency not so much towards applying the category of acquisitive prescription to historical titles, but rather towards defining one of the consolidating elements of historical title as determining. The research is based on a comprehensive analysis of current international legal doctrine and its comparison with auxiliary means of determining the content of customary norms of international law, represented in studies by the UN Secretariat dedicated to the issues of historical waters. The main conclusions of the research include the definition of historical title in maritime law as a particular case of legal title – that is, a legal basis for the extension of state sovereignty over maritime territory, and the inapplicability of the concept of acquisitive prescription to the determination of the legal regime of historical titles to maritime spaces. A significant contribution of the author is the conclusion about the impossibility of incorporating the concept of prescriptive title from Roman law in any form to the issues of acquiring sovereignty over historical maritime spaces, as the concept of acquisitive prescription implies the initial illegality of possession of territory, which, considering the specifics of international maritime law, is impossible. Since historical title represents an independent customary legal regime, a key question for the doctrine of maritime law is which of its elements is primary: the effectiveness of exercising sovereignty, the duration of possession of the waters, or the consent of the international community.