SEABED ASSEMBLY OFFERS NO COMMENTS ON DISPUTES CHAMBER; CONSTITUTES CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE
Press Release
SEA/1634
SEABED ASSEMBLY OFFERS NO COMMENTS ON DISPUTES CHAMBER; CONSTITUTES CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE
19990818(Received from the International Seabed Authority.)
KINGSTON, 17 August -- The Assembly of the International Seabed Authority, at a brief meeting in Kingston this morning, agreed to inform the Registrar of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea that it had no recommendation to make at this time regarding the composition of the Tribunal's Seabed Disputes Chamber.
The Assembly acted without discussion or objection in response to a letter from the Registrar seeking its comments. The Secretary-General of the Authority, Satya N. Nandan, who drew the letter to the Assembly's attention, recalled a paragraph in the Statute of the Tribunal (article 35) stating: "In the selection of the members of the Chamber, the representation of the principal legal systems of the world and equitable geographical distribution shall be assured. The Assembly of the Authority may adopt recommendations of a general nature relating to such representation and distribution". Mr. Nandan added that, to his personal knowledge, the Tribunal had taken account of the stated criteria when selecting members of the Chamber.
Under article 187 of the 1992 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Seabed Disputes Chamber has jurisdiction over disputes concerning the international seabed area, whether involving States, the Authority or private and public contractors. The Tribunal constituted the Chamber in 1997 by choosing the 11 members from among its own judges. They serve a three-year term.
Also this morning the Assembly chose the membership of its Credentials Committee, which is to be composed of Austria, Bahamas, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Czech Republic, Ghana, Japan, Netherlands and Uruguay. The Committee is to meet on Monday, 23 August, to examine the credentials of delegations to the current three-week session of the Authority.
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