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International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is an intergovernmental organization created by the mandate of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. It was established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed at Montego Bay, Jamaica, on December 10, 1982. The Convention entered into force on November 16, 1994, and established an international framework for law over all ocean space, its uses and resources. The ITLOS is one of four dispute resolution mechanisms listed in Article 287 of the UNCLOS.[1] Although the Tribunal was established by a United Nations convention, it is not an "organ" of the United Nations. Even so, it maintains close links with the United Nations and in 1997 the Tribunal concluded an Agreement on Cooperation and Relationship between the United Nations and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which establishes a mechanism for cooperation between the two institutions.[2]

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Tribunal international du droit de la mer (French)
Official logo of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Official logo
LocationGermany Hamburg, Germany
Working languages
Judges from21 nations
Leaders
• President
Iceland Judge Tomas Heidar
• Vice President
India Judge Neeru Chadha
Establishment
• UNCLOS adopted
10 December 1982
• UNCLOS in force
16 November 1994
Website
https://www.itlos.org/
A large building with trees in front
ITLOS seen from Elbchaussee, close to the River Elbe

The Tribunal is based in Hamburg, Germany. The Convention also established the International Seabed Authority, with responsibility for the regulation of seabed mining beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, that is beyond the limits of the territorial sea, the contiguous zone and the continental shelf. As of July 2024, there are currently 157 signatories, 169 States plus the European Union.[3] As of December 2022, holdouts included the United States[4] and Iran.[5]

Composition

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According to its founding statute, the Tribunal has a set of 21 judges who serve from a variety of states parties, "according to a method that intends to assure an equitable geographical representation".[6]

At the request of Chile and the European Union, the Tribunal set up a special chamber composed of five judges to deal with the Case concerning the Conservation and Sustainable Exploitation of Swordfish Stocks in the South-Eastern Pacific Ocean (Chile/European Community).[citation needed]

By agreement of the parties Ghana and Ivory Coast, the Tribunal formed a special chamber composed of five judges to deal with the Dispute concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean (Ghana/Côte d'Ivoire).[citation needed]

By agreement of the parties Mauritius and Maldives, the Tribunal formed a special chamber of seven permanent judges and two ad hoc judges to deal with the Dispute concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius/Maldives).[7]

Seats

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Disputes referred to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea or one of its chambers can be heard in Germany[8] or in Singapore.[9][10] So far, no case has been heard outside Germany.[11]

Current judges

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Judges of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Country Name Inauguration President Vice president
  Cabo Verde José Luís Jesus 1999 2008–2011
  Poland Stanisław Pawlak 2005
  Japan Hidehisa Horinouchi 2023
  Sierra Leone Osman Keh Kamara 2023
  South Africa Thembile Elphus Joyini 2023
  Algeria Boualem Bouguetaia 2008 2014–2017
  South Korea Zha Hyoung Rhee 2023
  Malta David Attard 2011 2017–2020
  Ukraine Markiyan Kulyk 2011
  Argentina Frida Maria Armas Pfirter 2023
  Iceland Tomas Heiðar 2014 2023–present
  Paraguay Óscar Cabello Sarubbi 2017
  India Neeru Chadha 2017 2023-present
  Thailand Kriangsak Kittichaisaree 2017
  Russia Roman Kolodkin 2017
  Netherlands Liesbeth Lijnzaad 2017
  Chile María Teresa Infante Caffi 2020
  Jamaica Kathy-Ann Brown 2020
  Italy Ida Caracciolo 2020
  Cameroon Maurice Kamga 2020
  China Duan Jielong 2020

Former judges

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Former judges of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Country Name Inauguration Until
  Bulgaria Alexander Yankov 1996 2011
  Russia Anatoly Kolodkin 1996 2008
  Brazil Antonio Cachapuz de Medeiros 2016 2016
  Croatia Budislav Vukas 1996 2005
  South Korea Choon-ho Park 1996 2008
  South Korea Paik Jin-hyun 2009 2023
  France Jean-Pierre Cot 2002 2020
  United Kingdom David Heywood Anderson 1996 2005
  Grenada Dolliver Nelson 1996 2014
  Belize Edward Arthur Laing 1996 2001
  China Gao Zhiguo 2008 2020
  China Xu Guangjian 2001 2007
  Iceland Guðmundur Eiríksson 1996 2002
  Austria Helmut Türk 2005 2014
  Argentina Hugo Caminos 1996 2011
  Lebanon Joseph Akl 1996 2017
  Tanzania Joseph Warioba 1996 2008
  Argentina Elsa Kelly 2011 2020
  Trinidad and Tobago Lennox Fitzroy Ballah 2002 2003
  Senegal Tafsir Malick Ndiaye 1996 2020
  China Zhao Lihai 1996 2000
  Trinidad and Tobago Anthony Lucky 2003 2020
  Cameroon Paul Engo 1996 2008
  India P. Chandrasekhara Rao 1996 2017
  Germany Rüdiger Wolfrum 1996 2017
  Japan Soji Yamamoto 1996 2005
  Ghana Thomas Mensah 1996 2005
  Italy Tullio Treves 1996 2011
  Brazil Vicente Marotta Rangel 1996 2015
  Russia Vladimir Golitsyn 2008 2017

Cases

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Cases of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Name Applicant Respondent Case began Case ended Disposition
The M/V "Saiga" Case   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines   Guinea 13 November 1997 4 December 1997 Judgment on prompt release
The M/V "Saiga" (No. 2) Case   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines   Guinea 13 January 1998 1 July 1999 Judgment on merits
Southern Bluefin Tuna Cases   New Zealand   Japan 30 July 1999 27 August 1999 Order on provisional measures
  Australia
The "Camouco" Case   Panama   France 17 January 2000 7 February 2000 Judgment on prompt release
The "Monte Confurco" Case   Seychelles   France 27 November 2000 18 December 2000 Judgment on prompt release
Case concerning the Conservation and Sustainable Exploitation of Swordfish Stocks in the South-Eastern Pacific Ocean   Chile /   European Union[A] 19 December 2000 16 December 2009 Terminated at request of parties
The "Grand Prince" Case   Belize   France 21 March 2001 20 April 2001 Judgment on prompt release
The "Chaisiri Reefer 2" Case   Panama   Yemen 3 July 2001 13 July 2001 Terminated at request of parties
The MOX Plant Case   Ireland   United Kingdom 9 November 2001 3 December 2001 Order on provisional measures
The "Volga" Case   Russia   Australia 2 December 2002 23 December 2002 Judgment on prompt release
Case concerning Land Reclamation by Singapore in and Around the Straits of Johor   Malaysia   Singapore 5 September 2003 8 October 2003 Order on provisional measures
The "Juno Trader" Case   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines   Guinea-Bissau 18 November 2004 18 December 2004 Judgment on prompt release
The "Hoshinmaru" Case   Japan   Russia 6 July 2007 6 August 2007 Judgment on prompt release
The "Tomimaru" Case   Japan   Russia 6 July 2007 6 August 2007 Judgment on prompt release
Dispute concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal   Bangladesh /   Myanmar 14 December 2009 14 March 2012 Judgment on merits
Responsibilities and Obligations of States Sponsoring Persons and Entities with Respect to Activities in the Area International Seabed Authority 14 May 2010 1 February 2011 Advisory opinion
The M/V "Louisa" Case   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines   Spain 24 November 2010 28 May 2013 Judgment on merits
The M/V "Virginia G" Case   Panama /   Guinea-Bissau 4 July 2011 14 April 2014 Judgment on merits
The "ARA Libertad" Case   Argentina   Ghana 14 November 2012 15 December 2012 Order on provisional measures
Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission 28 March 2013 2 April 2015 Advisory opinion
The "Arctic Sunrise" Case   Netherlands   Russia 21 October 2013 22 November 2013 Order on provisional measures
Dispute concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean   Ghana /   Ivory Coast 3 December 2014 23 September 2017 Judgment on merits
The "Enrica Lexie" Incident   Italy   India 21 July 2015 24 August 2015 Order on provisional measures
The M/V "Norstar" Case   Panama   Italy 17 December 2015 10 April 2019 Judgment on merits
Case concerning the Detention of Three Ukrainian Naval Vessels   Ukraine   Russia 16 April 2019 25 May 2019 Order on provisional measures
The M/T "San Padre Pio" Case    Switzerland   Nigeria 21 May 2019 6 July 2019 Order on provisional measures
Dispute concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean   Mauritius /   Maldives 24 September 2019 Ongoing
The M/T "San Padre Pio" (No. 2) Case    Switzerland /   Nigeria 17 December 2019 29 December 2021 Terminated at request of parties
The M/T "Heroic Idun" Case   Marshall Islands   Equatorial Guinea 10 November 2022 15 November 2022 Terminated at request of applicant
Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law 12 December 2022 21 May 2024 Advisory Opinion
The M/T "Heroic Idun" (No. 2) Case   Marshall Islands /   Equatorial Guinea 27 April 2023 Ongoing
The “Zheng He” Case   Luxembourg   Mexico 3 June 2024 Ongoing
  1. ^ The European Union replaced and succeeded the   European Community as a party to the case on 1 December 2009.

References

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  1. ^ SM Mitchell; EJ Powell. "Forum Shopping for the Best Adjudicator: Conflict Management and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos)" (PDF). APSA 2011 Annual Meeting Paper. American Political Science Association.
  2. ^ "International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: Relationship with the United Nations". ITLOS. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  3. ^ "United Nations Treaty Collection". treaties.un.org. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  4. ^ Groves, Steven (12 March 2012). "Accession to U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea Would Expose the U.S. to Baseless Climate Change Lawsuits". The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Iran strikes in Strait of Hormuz as Middle East tanker tensions explode". Trade Winds. 22 July 2019.
  6. ^ García-Revillo, Miguel G. (2016). "3. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)". Yearbook of International Environmental Law. 27: 424–426. doi:10.1093/yiel/yvx077.
  7. ^ "Press release" (PDF). ITLOS. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  8. ^ "International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: Seat". ITLOS. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  9. ^ ITLOS. "ITLOS AND SINGAPORE SIGN MODEL AGREEMENT TO ENABLE THE TRIBUNAL TO SIT IN SINGAPORE" (PDF).
  10. ^ Auto, Hermes (11 June 2020). "Law of the sea disputes can now be heard in Singapore under signed agreement | The Straits Times". straitstimes.com. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  11. ^ "International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: Seat". www.itlos.org. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
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