The maritime boundary dispute between Timor-Leste and Australia was submitted to the compulsory conciliation procedure under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This is the first instance of conciliation, whether voluntary or compulsory, under UNCLOS. The Timor Sea conciliation led to the successful settlement of the long-standing deadlock between the parties that had hitherto not been settled by negotiation and had no possibility of being settled by litigation (within, for example, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea or International Court of Justice proceedings) or arbitration (within the context of an UNCLOS Annex VII tribunal). This article aims to elucidate the unique mechanism of conciliation and, to this end, analyses both the procedural particularities of conciliation under UNCLOS and the substantive considerations in conciliation proceedings. The author places emphasis, in particular, on the fundamental importance of the economic factor in the Timor Sea maritime delimitation – namely, the sharing ratio of the natural resources in the Greater Sunrise gas fields. Being a definitive factor for the success of this conciliation, it was the economics of this dispute that incentivized the parties to compromise and settle. Furthermore, given that conciliation is a most elucidating piece in the rather complicated puzzle that is the UNCLOS dispute settlement mechanism, the Timor Sea conciliation offers valuable insights into this mechanism.

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帝汶海调解：争端解决的独特机制

东帝汶与澳大利亚之间的海洋边界争端已提交联合国海洋法公约（UNCLOS）下的强制调解程序。这是根据《联合国海洋法公约》进行的第一次调解，无论是自愿的还是强制性的。帝汶海的调解成功解决了双方之间长期存在的僵局，这些僵局迄今无法通过谈判解决，也不可能通过诉讼解决（例如，在国际海洋法法庭或国际法院程序）或仲裁（在联合国海洋法公约附件七法庭的范围内）。本文旨在阐明调解的独特机制，并为此目的，分析了《海洋法公约》下调解的程序特殊性和调解程序中的实质性考虑。作者特别强调了帝汶海海洋划界中经济因素的根本重要性——即大日出气田中自然资源的共享比例。作为此次调解成功的决定性因素，正是这场争端的经济因素激励了双方妥协和解决。此外，鉴于调解是联合国海洋法公约争端解决机制这一相当复杂的难题中最能说明问题的部分，帝汶海调解提供了对该机制的宝贵见解。关于帝汶海海洋划界中经济因素的根本重要性——即大日出气田中自然资源的共享比例。作为这次调解成功的决定性因素，正是这场争端的经济因素激励了双方妥协和解决。此外，鉴于调解是联合国海洋法公约争端解决机制这一相当复杂的难题中最能说明问题的部分，帝汶海调解提供了对该机制的宝贵见解。关于帝汶海海洋划界中经济因素的根本重要性——即大日出气田中自然资源的共享比例。作为此次调解成功的决定性因素，正是这场争端的经济因素激励了双方妥协和解决。此外，鉴于调解是联合国海洋法公约争端解决机制这一相当复杂的难题中最能说明问题的部分，帝汶海调解提供了对该机制的宝贵见解。