The determination of Exclusive Economic Zone of Turkey and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in Eastern Mediterranean within the framework of international law rules

The exclusive economic zone concept which was introduced by the South America countries to benefit more from the resources in the maritime areas and to protect the sovereignty of states on living and non-living resources beyond territorial waters has been presented international law by 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Reasons like scarcity of resources, increasing energy demand, the determination of national maritime jurisdictions, coastal zone management, and national development have made the interest of the coastal state increased to the Exclusive economic zone day by day and some critical issues has have been emerged between states whose maritime jurisdictions are overlapping. Due to its strategic importance and the presence of maritime jurisdictions of many coastal states, the Eastern Mediterranean is one of these problematic centers. The delimitation problem of the exclusive economic zone in the Eastern Mediterranean also leads to the emergence of energy crisis as well in the area and also political issues that are continuing in Cyprus island generally have the priority over the exclusive economic zone policies. In this framework, the determination of the policies about exclusive economic zone boundaries of Turkey and TRNC will have a major impact on solving other issues. Key words: Exclusive Economic Zone, Eastern Mediterranean, Energy, Delimitation