ABSTRACT: The negotiation of the Australia-East Timor “Timor Gap” joint development agreement has
been a long and controversial process. Most of the controversy has centred on the delimitation of the maritime
boundary between the two countries and whether Australia should have sovereign rights over petroleu m
reserves in the Timor Gap. Australia’s claim to a stake in the petroleum reserves is based around the boundary
negotiated with Indonesia in 1972 which was delimited on the basis of the natural prolongation method of
continental shelf delimitation. However international law has shifted dynamically and critics of Australia’s
behaviour argue that Australia has deliberately avoided the issue of boundary delimitation to preserve its right
to a share in revenue from the joint development area. This paper con siders Australia’s stake in the joint
development agreement and whether the sovereignty it is asserting over the joint development area is justified
under the principles of international law.