US embassy cable - 05LIMA4733

UNCLAS LIMA 004733 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, EWWT, PE, CI 
SUBJECT: CONGRESS PASSES, TOLEDO PROMULGATES NEW LAW ON 
MARITIME LIMITS 
 
REF: A. SANTIAGO 2266 
 
     B. LIMA 4673 
     C. LIMA 4662 
     D. SANTIAGO 2240 
 
1.  President Alejandro Toledo, on 11/3, promulgated the Law 
on Peruvian Maritime Domain Boundary Lines (Ley de Lineas de 
Base del Dominio Maritimo del Peru), hours after the measure 
passed Congress unanimously (98-0).  The new law was 
published in the official "Legal Norms" on 11/4 and enters 
into effect on 11/5.  Embassy's unofficial translation 
follows.  Embassy will email copies of the law and annexes to 
WHA/AND and Embassy Santiago on 11/9, once it becomes 
available on the "Legal Norms" webpage (www.elperuano.com.pe). 
 
2.  Begin Text: LAW ON PERUVIAN MARITIME DOMAIN BOUNDARY LINES 
 
Article 1 - Purpose of the Law.  In compliance with Article 
54 of the Peruvian Constitution and in accordance with 
international law, this law establishes the boundary lines 
from which to measure the extent of the national maritime 
domain up to the distance of two hundred nautical miles 
within which the Peruvian State exercises sovereignty and 
jurisdiction. 
 
Article 2 - Determination of the Boundary Lines.  The 
boundary lines are determined by the geographic coordinates 
included in Annex 1, beginning in the North at geographic 
coordinates 03 degrees 23'33.06 S latitude, 80 degrees 
19'16.31 W longitude (WGS84 03 degrees 23'32.10 S latitude, 
80 degrees 18'49.29 W longitude), and ending in the South at 
WGS84 coordinates 18 degrees 21'08 S latitude, 70 degrees 
22'39 W longitude, included in the six charts of Annex 2 of 
this law. 
 
Article 3 - Consideration as Interior Waters.  In conformity 
with international law, waters found within the boundary 
lines established by Article 1 of this law form part of the 
interior waters of the State. 
 
Article 4 - Outer Boundary.  In conformity with the Peruvian 
Constitution, the Peruvian outer maritime domain is drawn 
such that each point of the aforementioned outer boundary 
lies two hundred nautical miles from the nearest point of the 
inner boundary line, applying the delimitation criteria 
stipulated by international law. 
 
Article 5 - Cartographic Survey of the Outer Boundary.  The 
Executive Branch is responsible for compiling the cartography 
corresponding to the outer boundary in accordance with that 
which has been stipulated in Article 4 of this law. 
 
Article 6 - Annexes 1 and 2 are part of the Law.  Annexes 1 
and 2 are integral parts of the present law. 
 
Article 7 - Effectiveness.  This law will come into effect on 
the day following its publication in the "El Peruano" 
official daily, and any previous legal provision which is 
contrary to the norms contained in this law, are 
correspondingly repealed, without effect or modified. 
 
End Text. 
 
3.  The annexes cited in the law consist of the geographic 
coordinates of 266 locations in Peru from which the inner 
boundary line is to be drawn, as well as six maps of portions 
of the Peruvian seacoast. 
STRUBLE