MEETING OF STATES PARTIES ELECTS 21 JUDGES OF SEA LAW TRIBUNAL
Press Release
SEA/1519
MEETING OF STATES PARTIES ELECTS 21 JUDGES OF SEA LAW TRIBUNAL
19960805 NEW YORK, 2 August (Office of Legal Affairs) -- The Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea today concluded its 10-day session, during which it elected the 21 judges to serve on the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. They were five each from the African Group and the Asian Group, four each from the Western European and Others Group and the Latin American and Caribbean Group, and three from the Eastern European Group.The Tribunal, to be headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, is the central forum for the settlement of disputes arising from the interpretation or application of the Convention.
Meeting Chairman Satya N. Nandan (Fiji) said the election marked a rare "historic opportunity" when the international community could select a whole slate of jurists to serve on an international court. Only once before in the history of the United Nations had the international community had the same opportunity, on the first election of the International Court of Justice, he added.
Mr. Nandan noted that the eight ballots that were necessary to fill the 21 seats demonstrated the high calibre of the 33 candidates that had stood for the election. "It was difficult to choose", he said, adding that the Meeting had before it an "outstanding set of individuals".
Also during this session, the States parties reviewed the draft agreement on the privileges and immunities of the Tribunal, its judges and the staff of its Registry. They decided to meet again from 10 to 14 March 1997, to finalize the draft agreement and to elect members of the Commission on the Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf.
Elections
The elections were held on 1 August after intensive consultations, led by Mr. Nandan, on the distribution of the seats among the regional groups. The Convention requires that the principal legal systems of the world be represented and equitable geographical distribution must be ensured in the Tribunal as a whole.
During the consultations, it was agreed that five seats each would be given to the African Group and the Asian Group, four seats each to the Western European and Others Group and the Latin American and Caribbean Group, and three seats to the Eastern European Group. Arrangements were also made for candidates not belonging to any of the established regional groups.
In all, eight ballots were required to fill the 21 seats as the 100 States participating in the vote narrowed the choices among the candidates, while ensuring that each regional group was allocated the number of seats as agreed. After the elections, lots were drawn to determine the name of the judges that would serve for initial periods of three and six years, as well as those that will serve the entire nine-year term. The Convention calls for the drawing of lots by the Secretary-General in order to achieve a system of rotation on the Tribunal, ensuring that seven seats would be vacated for a new election every three years.
Elected to serve on the International Tribunal are:
African States: Paul Bamela Engo, of Cameroon; Mohamed Mouldi Marsit, of Tunisia; Thomas A. Mensah, of Ghana; Tafsir Malick Ndiaye, of Senegal; and Joseph Sinde Warioba, of the United Republic of Tanzania.
Asian States: Joseph Akl, of Lebanon; Choon Ho Park, of the Republic of Korea; P. Chandrasekhara Rao, of India; Soji Yamamoto, of Japan; and Lihai Zhao, of China.
Eastern European States: Anatoly Lazarevich Kolodkin, of the Russian Federation; Budislav Vukas, of Croatia; and Alexander Yankov, of Bulgaria.
Latin American and Caribbean States: Hugo Caminos, of Argentina; Edward Arthur Laing, of Belize; Vicente Marotta Rangel, of Brazil; and L. Dolliver M. Nelson, of Grenada.
Western European and Other States: David H. Anderson, of the United Kingdom; Gudmundur Eiriksson, of Iceland; Tullio Treves, of Italy; and Rudiger Wulfrum, of Germany.
The representative of Germany said this morning that arrangements had been made for temporary facilities to house the Tribunal until the end of 1999, when construction of its permanent site is expected to be completed.
The judges are to convene in Hamburg on 1 October, when they will begin their work with a number of administrative and procedural matters, including the adoption of the internal rules of the Tribunal. Arrangements are being made for a ceremonial inauguration on 18 October, when the judges are expected to be formally sworn in by the Secretary-General.
- 3 - Press Release SEA/1519 5 August 1996
States Parties
The following States are parties to the Convention: Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, China, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq.
Also, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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