Abstract In 2016, the International Court of Justice ( ICJ ) ruled on Colombia’s preliminary objections to Nicaragua’s claim over the extended continental shelf in the Western Caribbean, which forms part of a submarine geographic feature known as the ‘Nicaraguan Rise’. This article recalls the long-standing Nicaragua–Colombia conflict over islands and maritime zones and analyses the 2012 and 2016 ICJ decisions with respect to the correlation between the distance and natural prolongation criteria. The article also addresses the role of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in delimitation, and concludes by discussing the geopolitical consequences of the future ICJ ruling concerning the delimitation of the extended continental shelf.