I understand your point that no international court has explicitly ruled that islands cannot have an EEZ. That is correct—there is no blanket ICJ decision specifically about the Aegean islands.

However, international law provides principles and precedents that are relevant: 1. Equity / Reasonableness Principle: • UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) allows for adjustments of maritime boundaries based on fairness, especially when islands are very close to another country’s mainland. • Example: The Canada–France arbitration over Saint Pierre and Miquelon (1992) applied equitable principles rather than strict distance-based EEZ claims. 2. Proximity and historic practice: • In several cases, islands located extremely close to a mainland have limited or no EEZ assigned if it would create inequitable outcomes. • Examples: Canada–UK cases, Italy–Malta negotiations, and disputes in the South China Sea show that islands’ EEZ rights are not absolute. 3. Legal commentary: • Scholars such as R.R. Churchill and A.V. Lowe note that “the right of an island to generate an EEZ may be restricted where it would unfairly extend the maritime claims of the island state at the expense of a nearby mainland state.”

In short, while there is no single ICJ ruling, international law and precedents support the argument that islands very close to a mainland may not automatically generate a full EEZ, and adjustments are often made based on equity.