In 2014 Japan’s Cabinet Order No. 302 declared the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (OL) to the west and north of Oki-no-Tori Shima (Area 302). Oki-no-Tori Shima consists of two small, barren, and uninhabitable rocks in the West Pacific. The northern part of Area 302 is broader than what the 2012 recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) specify. A question arises whether Order No. 302 violates Article 76(8) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which provides that the OL established by a coastal state ‘on the basis of’ the CLCS recommendations shall be final and binding. Another question is the role played by the CLCS in ‘assisting’ the coastal states to delimit their national jurisdiction so as to know where the Area (i.e., the Common Heritage of Mankind under UNCLOS Articles 1(1)(1) and 136) begins. The essential questions arising from Area 302 concern how well the UNCLOS mechanism can perform to safeguard the Common Heritage of Mankind through preventing encroachment thereupon by individual coastal states. This article looks at the context and explores the obligations implied by Article 76(8) for coastal states to ‘follow’ the recommendations in establishing the OL, with special reference to the northern part of Area 302. The article also examines legal consequences arising from a breach of these obligations.

中文翻译：

---

大陆架外部界限超出 CLCS 建议和《联合国海洋法公约》第 76 条第 8 款：参考日本第 302 号内阁令

2014 年，日本第 302 号内阁令宣布其大陆架外部界限在冲之鸟岛以西和以北 200 海里 (OL) 以外（302 区）。Oki-no-Tori Shima 由两块位于西太平洋的小而贫瘠且无法居住的岩石组成。302 区的北部比大陆架界限委员会 (CLCS) 2012 年的建议所指定的范围更广。一个问题是，第 302 号命令是否违反了《联合国海洋法公约》（UNCLOS）第 76 条第（8）款，该条规定，沿海国“基于”CLCS 建议建立的 OL最终的和具有约束力的。另一个问题是大陆架界限委员会在“协助”沿海国家划定其国家管辖范围以了解区域（即，《联合国海洋法公约》第 1 条第 1 款第 1 项和第 136 条规定的人类共同遗产开始。302 区提出的基本问题涉及《联合国海洋法公约》机制如何通过防止个别沿海国家侵犯人类共同遗产来保护人类共同遗产。本文着眼于上下文并探讨了第 76 条第 8 款所暗示的沿海国在建立 OL 时“遵循”建议的义务，特别是 302 区的北部。本文还研究了因以下原因引起的法律后果违反这些义务。