Borders, Territory and the Sea · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Borders, resources and legal duties

Geography · Places & Regions · ages 16-18
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which description correctly gives an exclusive economic zone's maximum outer limit, where it is measured from and the rights it provides?

    • Up to 12 nautical miles from the baseline; full sovereignty with navigation rights removed
    • Up to 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea's edge; resource rights with navigation rights retained
    • Up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline; resource rights with navigation rights retained

  2. What does sovereignty mean for a state?

    • Authority to govern its territory, with international duties
    • Authority to govern neighbouring states without full consent
    • Authority to cancel its treaty duties whenever its leaders disagree

  3. A world government settles every border dispute with binding force.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A boundary along a line of longitude divides a community and places its mine on one side. What does this example show?

    • Straight boundaries give equal access to local resources
    • Straight boundaries can divide communities and resources
    • Straight boundaries prevent resource disputes

  5. A flood moves the channel of a river used as a border. What should you check before deciding whether the legal border moved?

    • Move the border automatically to the new channel after every flood
    • Check how the boundary rule treats changes in the river
    • Keep the border fixed because river boundaries can never move

  6. In the Kasikili/Sedudu Island case, an 1890 treaty referred to the Chobe River's main channel. Which account correctly compares the states' arguments about that channel?

    • Botswana argued for the southern channel; Namibia argued for the northern channel
    • Both states accepted the northern channel but argued that different treaties applied
    • Botswana argued for the northern channel; Namibia argued for the southern channel

  7. A court with jurisdiction issues a binding judgment in a border dispute. One state rejects it and stays on the land. Which statement separates legal duty from enforcement?

    • The duty ends once the state rejects the judgment
    • The duty remains, though carrying out the judgment may be difficult
    • The duty begins only after the losing state agrees that the court's decision is fair

  8. A naturally formed offshore rock stays above water at high tide but cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of its own. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, what can it generate?

    • A territorial sea, but no EEZ or continental shelf of its own
    • An EEZ of its own, but no territorial sea
    • An EEZ and continental shelf of its own whenever a state claims ownership
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Borders, resources and legal duties W1-mt_vsZWx6C8fM-s1

  1. Up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline; resource rights with navigation rights retained · An EEZ can extend up to 200 nautical miles from the coastal baseline. It grants resource rights while other states retain navigation rights. The territorial sea's outer edge is not the measurement origin.
  2. Authority to govern its territory, with international duties · Sovereignty concerns governing a state's territory. It does not remove international duties or give authority over neighbouring states.
  3. False · No world government settles every border dispute. States can still have binding duties under international law.
  4. Straight boundaries can divide communities and resources · A line of longitude is a grid boundary. Its straight shape does not prevent it from dividing a community or placing a resource on one side.
  5. Check how the boundary rule treats changes in the river · The river's movement is a physical change. The treaty or other boundary rule determines whether the legal border follows it.
  6. Botswana argued for the northern channel; Namibia argued for the southern channel · Both arguments concerned which channel met the treaty's main-channel description. Botswana argued for the northern channel and Namibia for the southern channel.
  7. The duty remains, though carrying out the judgment may be difficult · Rejecting a binding judgment does not cancel the duty to comply. Whether and how the judgment is carried out is a separate enforcement question.
  8. A territorial sea, but no EEZ or continental shelf of its own · The stated conditions place the feature within the rock exception. It can have a territorial sea but no EEZ or continental shelf of its own.
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