Dispute settling mechanism?
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a coastal nation has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting its continental shelf. The shelf itself can extend to at least 200 nautical miles from the shore. A country can claim rights over an additional 150 nautical miles if it has scientific data to back its claims.
The claims have to be made to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and a country can make claims within 10 years of ratifying the convention. In 2001, Russia was the first country to make a claim before the commission, an unsuccessful one. The country's flag-planting expedition this August is part of a larger scientific programme to collect data that would prove its claim over the Lomonosov Ridge and other areas.
Norway submitted its claim in November 2006 to extend its shelf in three separate areas: the Loop Hole in the Barents Sea; the Western Nansen Basin in the Arctic Ocean; and the Banana Hole in the Norwegian Sea.
Canada and Denmark are expected to submit their claims shortly. The US has not submitted its claim. But its president George W Bush has urged the senate to realise the importance of the Convention and approve it.