STATES PARTIES TO LAW OF SEA CONVENTION TO MEET AT HEADQUARTERS 19-29 MAY

17 May 1999

Press Release
SEA/1615

STATES PARTIES TO LAW OF SEA CONVENTION TO MEET AT HEADQUARTERS 19-29 MAY

19990517 Election of Seven Judges to International Tribunal, Adoption of Tribunal Budget among Issues to Be Considered

NEW YORK, 17 May (Division for Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea) -- The States parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea will hold their ninth meeting at Headquarters from 19 to 28 May. At the forthcoming meeting, the States parties are expected to deal with a number of issues, including the adoption of the draft budget of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the election of seven judges to the Tribunal to replace the places that become vacant on 30 September.

A State party to the Convention is a State which has consented to be bound by the Convention and for which the Convention is in force. There are presently 130 parties to the Convention, comprising 129 States and one entity, the European Community.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea requires States parties to settle their disputes between them concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention by peaceful means. Where no settlement has been reached, the dispute shall be submitted at the request of any party to a court or tribunal having jurisdiction.

The International Tribunal, established by the Convention, is one of the dispute settlement forums to which parties to the Convention are bound to submit their disputes. The other forums are the International Court of Justice, arbitral and special arbitral tribunals. The Law of the Sea Tribunal, however, has exclusive jurisdiction in disputes concerning the exploitation of deep seabed mineral resources, whether those disputes are between States parties or those involving the International Seabed Authority. It also informs natural or juridical processes.

Election of Judges

The States parties elected 21 judges to serve on the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on 1 August 1996. The judges were sworn in by

the Secretary-General of the United Nations during the official inauguration of the Tribunal, which took place at its headquarters in the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg on 18 October 1996.

In accordance with the Statute of the Tribunal, those 21 judges were divided into three groups chosen by lot drawn by the Secretary-General after the first election. The term of the first group of seven Judges is to expire at the end of three years, the term of the next group of seven judges is to expire at the end of six years and the term of the office of the third group of judges is to expire at the end of nine years.

The forthcoming meeting of States parties will elect seven judges to replace those whose terms of office expire on 30 September. The election is to take place on 24 May.

For the present election there are 10 candidates nominated by 10 States parties to the Convention (for the complete list of nominees and their curricula vitae, see document SPLOS/32 and SPLOS/33).

Budget of Tribunal

The Tribunal, since the election of the 21 judges in 1996, has held seven sessions at its seat in Hamburg, Germany, and has dealt with one case for the prompt release of a vessel, the M/V "Saiga", and its crew and with a request for provisional measures. The Tribunal, having ordered the release of the vessel and its crew on the basis of the determination of the bond, is now dealing with the merits of the case. The merits of the case raise important issues including freedom of navigation, the enforcement of customs laws, bunkering and the right of hot pursuit. A decision on the merits will also address the question of whether the bond posted by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines should be paid to the Republic of Guinea or returned to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and whether any damages are due to any of the parties.

The hearing of the M/V "Saiga" (No. 2) case took place from 8 to 19 March and judicial deliberations were held in conjunction with the seventh session of the Tribunal from 28 February to 16 April. Judicial deliberations will continue in June and the Tribunal is expected to deliver its judgment at the end of June. The dispute was between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Republic of Guinea. The ship was flying the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines when it was arrested by customs authority of the Republic of Guinea. The ship was involved in re-fueling (bunkering) vessels at sea within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Guinea. The summaries of the deliberations have been posted on the Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea Web site.

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The Tribunal is scheduled to move at the beginning of the year 2000 from its temporary premises to its permanent premises. The new building and its grounds are being provided by the German authorities free of cost and rent, but the Tribunal will be responsible for all the maintenance, as well as operational expenses.

The budgetary arrangements first established for the Tribunal had been based on the determination of the States parties that there should be an evolutionary approach optimizing efficiency. Consequently, in the first two years of its functional phase and even thereafter, the Tribunal continues to operate with limited staff and resources.

According to the draft budget, the expenditure for the year 2000 will be determined largely by the following factors: the anticipated judicial workload; the Tribunal's administrative work; and the operation of its permanent premises. The Tribunal is requesting the sum of $8,705,576 for its operational costs, $1,721,759 more than the budget approved for the year 1999. The budget document also outlines the work programme of the Tribunal for the year 2000. The following costs are expected to be incurred according to the draft budget: $2,126,181.96 to cover the remuneration and expenses for the 21 judges of the Tribunal; $1,368,700 to cover costs associated with the professional staff of the Registry; $1,293,905 to cover costs associated with the general service staff of the Registry and $3,916,789.04 for administrative expenses.

In addition, the Tribunal is requesting an adjustment of the remuneration of the judges for the financial year 1999 based on the review and approval of the General Assembly of the United Nations, at its fifty-third session, of the remuneration of the Judges of the International Court of Justice. The proposal of the Tribunal is contained in document SPLOS/WP.10 and SPLOS/WP.10/Add.1.

In the event that the meeting of States parties approved the adjustment of remuneration of the judges contained in document SPLOS/WP.10 and that the new level of remuneration will apply effective from 1 January 1999, the Tribunal is requesting the meeting of States parties to approve a supplementary appropriation in the sum of $171,023.64 (document SPLOS/WP.11).

The eighth meeting of States parties had authorized the establishment of a working capital fund to enable the Tribunal to deal with cases whenever they are submitted and to ensure that the financial operations can be undertaken in accordance with the normal requirements of the applicable regulations and practices. In addition, the eighth meeting of States parties also approved a supplementary appropriation for 1998 to cover expenses for the proceedings in the M/V "Saiga" (No. 1) case. The draft document, therefore, contains the budgetary performance of the supplementary appropriation.

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In other matters concerning the Tribunal, the States parties will have before them the annual report of the Tribunal (document SPLOS/35); the draft financial regulations of the Tribunal (document SPLOS/36); the draft pension scheme regulations for members of the Tribunal (document SPLOS/WP.7/Rev.1); and the draft staff regulations (document SPLOS/37).

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