(1) The President of the Republic of Sri Lanka may, by Proclamation published in the Gazette, declare the limits of the sea beyond the land territory and internal waters of Sri Lanka which shall be the territorial sea of Sri Lanka, specifying in such Proclamation the baselines from which such limits shall be measured. The waters on the landward side of such baselines shall form part of the internal waters of Sri Lanka.

(2) Where an island or rock, or a group of islands and rocks, or a group of islands or a group of rocks, constituting part of the territory of Sri Lanka is situated seaward from the main coast or baseline, the territorial sea shall extend to the limits declared by the Proclamation under subsection (1) measured from the low-water mark of ordinary spring tides along the seaward edge of such island or rock, or group of islands and rocks, or group of islands or group of rocks.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Law or any other written law: (a) the boundary between Sri Lanka and India in the waters from Palk Strait to Adam's Bridge shall be the arcs of Great Circles between the following positions in the sequence given hereunder defined by latitude and longitude:

Position 1: 10° OS' North, 80° 03' East
Position 2: 09° 57' North, 79° 35' East
Position 3: 09° 40.15' North, 79° 22.60' East
Position 4: 09° 21.80' North, 79° 30.70' East
Position 5: 09° 13' North, 79° 32' East
Position 6. 09° 06' North, 79° 32' East;

 

Territorial Seas & Maritime Zones

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(b) the boundary between Sri Lanka and India in the Gulf of Mannar shall be the arcs of the Great Circles between the following positions in the sequence given hereunder defined by latitude and longitude:

Position 1m: 09° 06.0' North, 79° 32.0' East
Position 2m: 09° 00.0' North, 79° 31.3' East
Position 3m: 08° 53.8' North, 79° 29.3' East
Position 4m: 08° 40.0' North, 79° 18.2' East
Position 5m: 08° 37.2' North, 79° 13.0' East
Position 6m: 08° 31.2' North, 79° 04.7' East
Position 7m: 08° 22.2' North, 78° 55.4' East
Position 8m: 08° 12.2' North, 78° 53.7' East
Position 9m: 07° 35.3' North, 78° 45.7' East
Position 10m: 07° 21.0' North, 78° 38.8' East
Position 11m: 06° 30.8' North, 78° 12.2' East
Position 12m: 05° 53.9' North, 77° 50.7' East
Position 13m: 05° 00.0' North, 77° 10.6' East;

(c) the boundary between Sri Lanka and India in the Bay of Bengal shall be the arcs of Great Circles between the following positions in the sequence given hereunder defined by latitude and longitude:

Position 1 b: 10° 05.0' North, 80° 03.0' East
Position 1 ba: 10° 05.8' North, 80° 05.0' East
Position 1 bb: 10° 08.4' North, 80° 09.5' East
Position 2 b: 10° 33.0' North, 80° 46.0' East
Position 3 b: 10° 41.7' North, 81° 02.5' East
Position 4 b: 11° 02.7' North, 81° 56.0' East
Position 5 b: 11° 16.0' North, 82° 24.4' East
Position 6 b: 11° 26.6' North, 83° 22.0' East.


 

As soon as may be convenient after the coming into operation of this Law, and thereafter whenever necessary, the Minister may require the Surveyor-General to publish or cause to be published a map indicating the low-water mark of ordinary spring tides, the baselines for measurement of the territorial sea, and the outer limits of the territorial sea and other maritime zones and jurisdiction of Sri Lanka declared in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Proclamation by the president of the Republic of Sri Lanka of 15 January 1977 in pursuance of Maritime Zones law No. 22 of 1976

That the breadth of the territorial sea shall be measured from the low-water mark of ordinary spring tides along the coast of the mainland and along the seaward edge of islands:

Provided that for the purpose of determining the baselines for delimiting the territorial sea:

i) A low-tide elevation which lies wholly or partly within the bread of sea which would be territorial sea if all low-tide elevations were disregarded for the purpose of the measurement of the breadth thereof shall be treated as islands.

ii) Permanent installations further out to sea which form an integral part of a port system shall be considered as part of the coast of the mainland.

(iii) the method of straight baselines may be employed in drawing the baselines where there are deep bays and inlets in the coast or when there is a fringe of islands immediately adjacent to the coast, provided that such baselines shall not depart appreciably from the general direction of the coast and the areas of the sea lying landward from these lines shall be sufficiently closely linked to the land domain to be subject to the regime of internal waters;

Provided further that the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea shall be measured in the sea north of Point Pedro shall be the arc of Great Circle between the following positions defined by latitude and longitude in the Palk Strait:

(i) 09⁰ 49' 8" North, 80⁰ 15' 2" East,

(ii) 10⁰ 05' 0" North, 80⁰ 03' 0" East;

(4) that the exclusive economic zone of Sri Lanka shall extend to the sea to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the territorial sea is measured;

(5) that the pollution prevention zone shall extend to the sea to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the territorial sea is measured;

(6) That notwithstanding anything in paragraphs (4) and (5), the exclusive economic zone and the pollution prevention zone of Sri Lanka in the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal shall extend to the sea up to the sea up to the maritime boundary between Sri Lanka and India as defined in section 8 of the maritime Zones Law No. 22 of 1976;

(7) (i) that the historic waters of Sri Lanka comprise the areas of sea in the Palk Strait, Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar bounded by:

(a) the coast of the mainland of Sri Lanka;
(b) the maritime boundary between Sri Lanka and India as defined in Section 8 of the Maritime Zones Law, No. 22 of 1976;
(c) the arc of Great Circle between the following positions defined by latitude and longitude in the Gulf of Mannar:

(i) 08° 15' 0" North, 79° 44' 0" East,
(ii) 08° 22' 2" North, 78° 55' 4" East; and

(d) the arc of Great Circle between the following positions defined by latitude and longitude in the Palk Strait:

(i) 09° 49' 8" North, 80° 15' 2" East,
(ii) 10° OS' 0" North, 80° 03' 0" East;

(ii) the historic waters in the Palk Bay and Palk Strait part of the internal waters of Sri Lanka;
(iii) the historic waters in the Gulf of Mannar shall form part of the territorial sea of Sri Lanka.

Source: The Law of the Sea : Baselines-National Legislation With Illustrative Maps, 1989, The United Nations