evidence: Under international law, a state with sovereignty over an island, whatever its size, is entitled to claim a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea and other maritime areas around it. Accordingly, in order to draw the maritime boundary between the two countries in the disputed area, the ICJ first had to determine which state had sovereignty over seven contested islands at Alburquerque Cays, Bajo Nuevo, East-Southeast Cays, QuitasueÃ±o, Roncador, Serrana, and Serranilla.[3] [...] The parties advanced differing versions of the relevant coasts for purposes of drawing the provisional line. The ICJ concluded that the entire mainland coast of Nicaragua, with a length of some 531 kilometers, constituted the relevant Nicaraguan coast, while the relevant Colombian coast was confined to the coasts of the islands under Colombian sovereignty, measuring 65 kilometersâresulting in a ratio of approximately 1:8.2 in favor of Nicaragua. In determining the relevant coasts, the ICJ disregarded Bajo Nuevo, QuitasueÃ±o, and Serranilla. As regards the extent of the relevant area in which it was to effect the delimitation, the Court essentially adopted Nicaraguaâs version, which, at just over 200,000 square kilometers, is at least one-third larger than the area advocated by Colombia.[9]