'ARBITRATION CONCERNING BURAIMI AND THE COMMON FRONTIER BETWEEN ABU DHABI AND SA'ŪDI ARABIA' [With maps] [‎80r] (164/541)

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(a) The Rulers of Abu Dhabi have maintained a continuous display of State
authority in, or in regard to, the area and have thereby shown (ft an
intention and will to act as sovereign; and (ii), some exercise or disolav
of sovereignty (see Principle II, stated in Part IX, Section C para
graph 11); ’ ^
(b) The display of State authority by the Rulers of Abu Dhabi has been peace
ful in relation to other States (see Principle IV, stated in Part IX
Section C, paragraph 11);
(c) The display of State authority by the Rulers of Abu Dhabi has corresponded
to the nature and circumstances of the territory (see Principle V (a)
stated in Part IX, Section C, paragraph 11);
(d) The exercise of State authority by the Rulers of Abu Dhabi has extended
to all the principal parts of the geographical region which lies between
the Rub‘ al-Khali and Jafurah deserts and the waters of the Persian
Gulf. Consequently, their exercise of State authority establishes the
sovereignty of Abu Dhabi over the whole of the area which is the
subject of Article II {a) of the Arbitration Agreement (see Principle V (b),
stated in Part IX, Section C, paragraph 11).
It follows, in the view of the United Kingdom Government, that, during successive
periods, since ancient times, the Rulers of Abu Dhabi have possessed a valid title
to the sovereignty of the whole area which is the subject of Article II {a) of the
Arbitration Agreement. In short, an analysis of the exercise of jurisdiction and
other State activity of the Rulers of Abu Dhabi in, and in regard to, this area
completely confirms the conclusion from the historical facts, which was reached in
Section A above—namely, that at the critical date, in 1949, when the Sa‘udi
Government encroached upon the area, it was a trespass upon Abu Dhabi territory,
and a violation of Abu Dhabi sovereignty.
The Exercise of Jurisdiction and other Activity of the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and the
Sultan of Muscat and ‘Oman in the Buraimi Zone
107. The so-called Buraimi Zone, as already stated, has no existence outside
the terms of the Special Agreement in the present Arbitration. It signifies nothing,
either geographically, economically, tribally, or administratively. The relevant
circumstances, in considering the exercise of jurisdiction and other activity of the
respective Rulers in the Buraimi Zone, are, as follows:—
(a) The Zone consists of the Oasis and contiguous deserts, the life of which is
closely bound up with that of the Oasis;
{b) The Oasis is the western gateway into the northern parts of Muscat and
‘Oman, and lies in the frontier area, between the territory of Muscat
and ‘Oman, and that of the Trucial States A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. . It has what are, for those
regions, good communications both with Abu Dhabi town and with
Sauhar on the Muscat coast, and has close economic links with both
places. These links are, however, even closer with Abu Dhabi town
than with Sauhar, over a third of the population of Abu Dhabi
town migrating to Buraimi every summer;
(c) The Oasis is comparatively fertile, and, as a result, is essentially a settled
area, consisting of a number of well-defined villages.
108. The position, in regard to the exercise of jurisdiction and other display
of State activity in the Buraimi Zone, is precisely what would be expected from the
above circumstances. First, jurisdiction has been exercised, and State activity
displayed, in the Zone, both by the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and by the Sultan of Muscat
and ‘Oman. Secondly, these two Rulers have each maintained a local administra
tion in their respective parts of the Oasis, and these local administrations have
dealt also with the affairs of the tribesmen grazing their camels in the contiguous
deserts. Thirdly, the area being a frontier area, the other forms of State ac ivi y
have largely concerned matters of war and defence. The details of the exercise o
jurisdiction by the Rulers of Abu Dhabi and the Sultans of Muscat and
have been set out in Part VI, Section B, and the details of the other State ac iv y
in Part III, Section B.
109. In the 18th century the Sultan of Muscat and ‘Oman exercised jurisdiction
in Buraimi through his Wali. In the 19th century, the Sultan s .J ur ^ s 1 r . •
sometimes in abeyance, until the final eviction of the Wahhabis, in 1 . &
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