Objections made on September 11, 1997:
"Belize cannot accept any declaration or statement made by a State which is not in conformity with articles 309 and 310 of the Convention.
Article 309 prohibits reservations or exceptions unless expressly permitted by other articles of the Convention. Under article 310, declarations or statements made by a State cannot exclude or modify the legal effect of the provisions of the Convention in their application to that State.
Belize considers that declarations and statements not in conformity with articles 309 and 310 of the Convention include, inter alia , those which are not compatible with the dispute resolution mechanism provided in Part XV of the Convention as well as those which purport to subordinate the interpretation or application of the Convention to national laws and regulations, including constitutional provisions.
The recent declaration made by the Government of Guate-mala on ratification of the Convention is inconsistent with the aforesaid articles 309 and 310 in the following respects:
(a) Any alleged 'rights' over land territory referred to in paragraph (a) of the declaration are outside the scope of the Convention, so that part of the declaration does not fall within the range permitted by article 310.
(b) With regard to the alleged 'historical rights' over Bahia de Amatique, the declaration purports to preclude the application of the Convention, in particular article 310 which defines bays, and Part XV which enjoins that State Parties shall settle any disputes between them concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention in accordance with the procedure prescribed therein.
(c) With regard to paragraph (b) of the Guatemalan declaration that 'the territorial sea and maritime zones cannot be delimited until such time as the existing dispute is resolved', article 74 of the Convention requires States with opposite or adjacent coasts to delimit their respective Exclusive Economic Zones by agreement or, if no agreement can be reached within a reasonable time, by recourse to the dispute settlement mechanism under Part XV of the Convention. As for the delimitation of territorial sea, article 15 of the Convention provides that States with opposite or adjacent coast may not extend their respective territorial seas beyond the median line unless they so agree. To the extent that Guatemala is purporting to make a reservation as to, or to exclude or modify the effect of the aforesaid articles 15 or 74, or Part XV of the Convention, the declaration is inconsistent with articles 309 and 310 of the Convention.
For the reasons given above, the Government of Belize hereby categorically rejects as unfounded and misconceived the Guatemala declaration in toto."
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