La controversia sobre las aguas de Gibraltar: el mito de la costa seca

Abstract

The legal status of the waters around Gibraltar is a dispute with its own specific characteristics, which overlap and interrelate with the other controversies surrounding Gibraltar. Recently, disagreements between the parties have led to a number of confrontations. This paper stresses the weakness of the Spanish position in its attempts to deny the existence of waters under the jurisdiction of Gibraltar, an interpretation known as the «costa seca» or dry coast doctrine. It is our opinion that this untenable doctrine has neither legal nor historical support and, this being the case, Spanish policy regarding Gibraltar’s waters needs to be thoroughly revised, in an attempt at avoiding confrontation and at seeking dialogue and negotiation.