Boundary delimitation is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities. In the context of elections, it can be called redistribution and is used to prevent unbalance of population across districts. In the United States, it is called redistricting. Unbalanced or discriminatory delimitation is called "gerrymandering." Though there are no internationally agreed processes that guarantee fair delimitation, several organizations, such as the Commonwealth Secretariat, the European Union and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems have proposed guidelines for effective delimitation. In international law, the related national delimitation is the process of legally establishing the outer limits of a state within which full territorial or functional sovereignty is exercised. Occasionally this is used when referring to the maritime boundaries, in which case it is called maritime delimitation.
Democratic delimitation
Methods
Countries delimit electoral districts in different ways. Sometimes these are drawn based on traditional boundaries, sometimes based on the physical characteristics of the region and, often, the lines are drawn based on the social, political and cultural contexts of the area. This may need to be done in any form of electoral system even though it is primarily done for plurality or majority electoral system. These processes of boundary delimitation can have a variety of legal justifications. Often, because of the powerful effects this process can have on constituencies, the legal framework for delimitation is specified in the constitution of a country. The Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance recommends the following pieces of information be included in this legal framework:
The respective roles of the legislature, judiciary and executive in the process;and
The ultimate authority for the final determination of the electoral units.
Established democracies
Delimitation is regularly used in the United States and Commonwealth countries. This is called redistricting or redistribution respectively. In these countries non-partisan commissions may draw new district boundaries based on the distribution of population according to a census.
As part of its report, European Commission for Democracy Through Law: Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, Guidelines and Explanatory Reports adopted October 2002, the Venice Commission proposed the following guidelines:
Commonwealth Secretariat
In the publication Good Commonwealth Electoral Practices: A Working Document, June 1997, the Commonwealth Secretariat identifies the following practices as necessary for proper delimitation:
be managed by an independent and impartial body that is representative of society, comprising persons with the appropriate skills;
be conducted on the basis of clearly identified criteria such as population, distribution, community of interest, convenience, geographical features and other natural or administrative boundaries;
be made accessible to the public through a consultation process;
be devoid of manipulation of electoral boundaries to favour political groups or political interests;
be conducted by one body;
include all spheres of government, both national and local.
National delimitation
The negotiations surrounding the modification of a state's borders is called National delimitation. This event often takes place as part of the negotiations seeking to end a conflict over resource control, popular loyalties, or political interests.
Maritime delimitation
The term Maritime delimitation is a form of national delimitation that can be applied to the disputes between nations over maritime claims. An example is found at . In international politics, the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations Secretariat is responsible for the collection of all claims to territorial waters.
