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Subject: DATA PROTECTION ACT (1998)

DocumentStyle: FCO Standard Letter (with Crest)

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DocumentDate: 18 December 2002

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23 July 2008

Our ref: 0530-08

Information Management Group

Old Admiralty Building

London

SW1A 2PAPA

Tel: 020 7008 8793

Fax: 020 7008 1114

E-mail: xxxx.xxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx

Ms Simone Barrett-White

By email

Dear Ms Barrett-White

I am writing to confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has now completed its search for the information which you requested on 25 June 2008. In that request you asked for:

“Please could you supply me, in electronic format, a list of current disputes between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with other international governments over coastal waters around the UK.

Also, could you provide, again in electronic format, disputes the UK currently has with other foreign powers over land ownership of islands and territories.

If these are being processed by some international body, could you please supply me with the names of these bodies and any relevant

case numbers, histories and notes.

Please remember that these shouldn't just be recent cases, but all open disputes the UK has over territorial claims worldwide. If this is not relevant to your department, could you please direct me to the department who would deal with this.”

I can confirm that the FCO does hold information relevant to your request. The information requested is not held centrally by the FCO and we had to contact all the geographic desks and the FCO legal advisers to respond to this request.

Coastal Waters

You ask about current disputes between the United Kingdom and other Governments about the coastal waters around the United Kingdom. There are no such disputes. We have agreed continental shelf boundaries with all of our neighbours and have recently been in touch with them about establishing agreed exclusive economic zone boundaries.

Disputes between UK and foreign governments over land ownership

Regarding this, the United Kingdom has no doubts about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas. There can be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless and until such time as the Falkland Islanders so wish.

The UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory which was ceded to Britain in 1814 and has been a British dependency ever since. As we have reiterated on many occasions, we have undertaken to cede the Territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes.

Most of the territory within British Antarctic Territory is counter-claimed by Argentina, by Chile or both. Nonetheless the United Kingdom has no doubts about its sovereignty over the British Antarctic Territory and the surrounding maritime areas. The Antarctic Treaty which entered into force in 1961 (and to which the UK, Argentina and Chile are all party) prohibits the assertion of any new claim, or enlargement of an existing claim, to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica while the Treaty is in force.

Sovereignty is an ongoing issue for Gibraltar, where Spain claims sovereignty over the isthmus and the territorial waters. The UK supports the right or principle of self-determination, but this must be exercised in accordance with the UN Charter and with other treaty obligations. In Gibraltar's case this includes the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. The Treaty provides that, were the UK to relinquish sovereignty, the right of first refusal would be given to Spain. Thus independence would only be an option with Spanish consent. Furthermore, the UK has made it clear it will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.

International Body who deals with territorial disputes

The only UN body which covers territorial disputes is the International court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ publishes a list of its cases past and pending on its website. Please see following link to the ICJ website: http://www.icj-cij.org/

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, you should write to me. You have 40 working days to do so.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the FCO. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Abul Husen

Information Rights Team

We keep and use information in line with the Data Protection Act 1998. We may release this personal information to other UK government departments and public authorities.

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