The Contiguous Zone in the Light of Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia)

This chapter addresses the contiguous zone aspect of the 2022 Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea case that was brought by Nicaragua against Colombia before the International Court of Justice. The judgment is a landmark decision for the contiguous zone. It determines the customary status of Article 33 and 303(2) of UNCLOS concerning the contiguous zone. It discusses whether the legal regime of the contiguous zone has evolved and whether it is broader than the express powers identified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In addition, it answers how the contiguous zone and the exclusive economic zone interact when they overlap and finds that a coastal state may declare a contiguous zone which overlaps with the EEZ of another state. These issues are analyzed in the chapter and put in context with State practice and scholarly writings.