Boundaries, Delimitation of

in international law the determination of the location and direction of state boundaries by agreement between contiguous states. Treaties containing a rather detailed description of the course of the boundary lines in a locality, and sometimes citing other documents on the delimitation of boundaries, record these international agreements. In accordance with the position of the line of the boundary settled upon in the agreement, the concerned parties transfer the boundary to a geographical map, which, as a rule, is a component of the agreement. The map thus serves as a visual testimony to the position of the boundary line.