The Court determined that were the rule enshrined in Art 6 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf (1958) to be applied mechanically to the concave German coastline, it would restrict Germany to a modest triangle of the continental shelf to the substantial benefit of its neighbours. It thus rejected the rule of Art 6 and found that the boundary lines in question were to be drawn by agreement between the parties and in accordance with equitable principles. It indicated certain factors to be taken into consideration for that purpose.

Nicaragua filed an application instituting proceedings against Honduras in respect of a dispute relating to the delimitation of the maritime areas appertaining to each of those States in the Caribbean Sea.

In this exceptional case, the ICJ emphasized that equidistance remained the general rule. It held, however, that both the configuration and the unstable nature of the relevant coastal area made it impossible to identify base points and construct a provisional equidistance line at all. This amounted to a special circumstance justifying the use of an alternative method, namely, the use of a line that bisected two lines drawn along the coastal fronts of the two States.