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 10 December 1982. The Convention entered into force on 16 November 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]

International Tribunal
for the Law of the Sea
Tribunal international du
droit de la mer  (French)
Official logo
Seat Hamburg, Germany
Working
languages
Judges from21 nations
Leaders
• President
Judge Albert Hoffmann
• Vice President
Judge Tomas Heidar
Establishment
• UNCLOS adopted
10 December 1982
• UNCLOS in force
16 November 1994
Website
http://www.itlos.org
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. There are currently 168 signatories, 167 states plus the European Union. As of 2021, holdouts included the United States[2] and the Islamic Republic of Iran.[3]

Composition

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".[4]

At the request of Chile and the European Union, the Tribunal set up a special chamber composed of 5 judges to deal with the Case concerning the Conservation and Sustainable Exploitation of Swordfish Stocks in the South-Eastern Pacific Ocean (Chile/European Community).

By agreement of the parties Ghana and Ivory Coast, the Tribunal formed a special chamber composed of 5 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).

By agreement of the parties Mauritius and Maldives, the Tribunal formed a special chamber of 7 permanent judges and 2 ad hoc judges to deal with the Dispute concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius/Maldives).[5]

Seats Of Tribunal

Disputes referred to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea or one of its chambers can be heard in Germany[6] or in Singapore.[7][8]

Current judges
. CountryNameInaugurationPresidentVice president
1 Cape Verde José Luís Jesus 1999 2008–2011
2 PolandStanisław Pawlak2005
3 JapanShunji Yanai20052011–2014
4 TanzaniaJames Kateka2005
5 South Africa Albert J. Hoffmann 2005since 2020 2011–2014
6 AlgeriaBoualem Bouguetaia20082014–2017
7 South KoreaPaik Jin-hyun20092017-2020
8 MaltaDavid Attard20112017-2020
9 UkraineMarkiyan Kulyk2011
10 MexicoAlonso Gómez-Robledo2014
11 IcelandTomas Heiðar2014since 2020
12 ParaguayÓscar Cabello Sarubbi2017
13 IndiaNeeru Chadha2017
14 ThailandKriangsak Kittichaisaree2017
15 RussiaRoman Kolodkin2017
16 NetherlandsLiesbeth Lijnzaad2017
17 ChileMaría Teresa Infante Caffi2020
18 JamaicaKathy-Ann Brown2020
19 ItalyIda Caracciolo2020
20 CameroonMaurice Kamga2020
21 ChinaDuan Jielong2020

Former judges
CountryNameInaugurationUntil
BulgariaAlexander Yankov19962011
RussiaAnatoly Kolodkin19962008
BrazilAntonio Cachapuz de Medeiros20162016
CroatiaBudislav Vukas19962005
South KoreaChoon-ho Park19962008
FranceJean-Pierre Cot20022020
United KingdomDavid Heywood Anderson19962005
GrenadaDolliver Nelson19962014
BelizeEdward Arthur Laing19962001
ChinaGao Zhiguo20082020
ChinaXu Guangjian20012007
IcelandGuðmundur Eiríksson19962002
AustriaHelmut Türk20052014
ArgentinaHugo Caminos19962011
LebanonJoseph Akl19962017
TanzaniaJoseph Warioba19962008
ArgentinaElsa Kelly20112020
Trinidad and TobagoLennox Fitzroy Ballah20022003
SenegalTafsir Malick Ndiaye19962020
ChinaZhao Lihai19962000
Trinidad and TobagoAnthony Lucky20032020
CameroonPaul Engo19962008
IndiaP. Chandrasekhara Rao19962017
GermanyRüdiger Wolfrum19962017
JapanSoji Yamamoto19962005
GhanaThomas Mensah19962005
ItalyTullio Treves19962011
BrazilVicente Marotta Rangel19962015
RussiaVladimir Golitsyn20082017

Cases
No. Name Applicant Respondent Case began Case ended Disposition
1 The M/V "Saiga" Case  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Guinea 13 November 1997 4 December 1997 Judgment on prompt release
2 The M/V "Saiga" (No. 2) Case  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Guinea 13 January 1998 1 July 1999 Judgment on merits
3 Southern Bluefin Tuna Cases  New Zealand  Japan 30 July 1999 27 August 1999 Order on provisional measures
4  Australia
5 The "Camouco" Case  Panama  France 17 January 2000 7 February 2000 Judgment on prompt release
6 The "Monte Confurco" Case  Seychelles  France 27 November 2000 18 December 2000 Judgment on prompt release
7 Case concerning the Conservation and Sustainable Exploitation of Swordfish Stocks in the South-Eastern Pacific Ocean  Chile /  European Union[upper-alpha 1] 19 December 2000 16 December 2009 Terminated at request of parties
8 The "Grand Prince" Case  Belize  France 21 March 2001 20 April 2001 Judgment on prompt release
9 The "Chaisiri Reefer 2" Case  Panama  Yemen 3 July 2001 13 July 2001 Terminated at request of parties
10 The MOX Plant Case  Ireland  United Kingdom 9 November 2001 3 December 2001 Order on provisional measures
11 The "Volga" Case  Russia  Australia 2 December 2002 23 December 2002 Judgment on prompt release
12 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
13 The "Juno Trader" Case  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Guinea-Bissau 18 November 2004 18 December 2004 Judgment on prompt release
14 The "Hoshinmaru" Case  Japan  Russia 6 July 2007 6 August 2007 Judgment on prompt release
15 The "Tomimaru" Case  Japan  Russia 6 July 2007 6 August 2007 Judgment on prompt release
16 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
17 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
18 The M/V "Louisa" Case  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Spain 24 November 2010 28 May 2013 Judgment on merits
19 The M/V "Virginia G" Case  Panama /  Guinea-Bissau 4 July 2011 14 April 2014 Judgment on merits
20 The "ARA Libertad" Case  Argentina  Ghana 14 November 2012 15 December 2012 Order on provisional measures
21 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
22 The "Arctic Sunrise" Case  Netherlands  Russia 21 October 2013 22 November 2013 Order on provisional measures
23 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
24 The "Enrica Lexie" Incident  Italy  India 21 July 2015 24 August 2015 Order on provisional measures
25 The M/V "Norstar" Case  Panama  Italy 17 December 2015 10 April 2019 Judgment on merits
26 Case concerning the Detention of Three Ukrainian Naval Vessels  Ukraine  Russia 16 April 2019 25 May 2019 Order on provisional measures
27 The M/T "San Padre Pio" Case   Switzerland  Nigeria 21 May 2019 6 July 2019 Order on provisional measures
28 Dispute concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean  Mauritius /  Maldives 24 September 2019 Ongoing
29 The M/T "San Padre Pio" (No. 2) Case   Switzerland /  Nigeria 17 December 2019 Ongoing
Notes
  1. The European Union replaced and succeeded the European Community as a party to the case on 1 December 2009.

References
  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. 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.
  3. "Iran strikes in Strait of Hormuz as Middle East tanker tensions explode". Trade Winds. 22 July 2019.
  4. 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.
  5. "Press release" (PDF). www.itlos.org. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  6. "International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: Seat". www.itlos.org. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  7. ITLOS. "ITLOS AND SINGAPORE SIGN MODEL AGREEMENT TO ENABLE THE TRIBUNAL TO SIT IN SINGAPORE" (PDF).
  8. Auto, Hermes (11 June 2020). "Law of the sea disputes can now be heard in Singapore under signed agreement | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 2 February 2022.

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