Consideration Given to Maps by the International Court in Settlement of Border Disputes: The Role of the U Shaped Line in Resolving the Dispute over the Spratly Islands

    Abstract: The International Court places great importance on maps as a form of evidence of the location of a border. In practice though, the Court tends to give weight to maps as evidence on a case by case basis, and has already determined preliminary guidelines regarding how to give such consideration. In particular, the development of visual space and satellite technology has increased the reliability of maps, clearly increasing their value when it comes to resolving a border dispute between states. While this may be the case, issues around the source, scale, specialization and technology, precision and the application of maps by claimant states have caused the International Court to continue to take a cautious approach with regard to their application as evidence. The comparative rules that the Court has applied to the weighting of maps in the resolution of disputes historically still offer important lessons for the resolution of the dispute over the Spratly Islands. The map with the U shaped line around the South China Sea which demonstrates the official intent of the Chinese government and which has long received tacit or explicit recognition by parties to the dispute provides an indisputable and effective means of determining the sovereignty of the disputes islands of the South China Sea, and is the equivalent of a legal right.