FINANCIAL ISSUES TO DOMINATE AGENDA AT TENTH MEETING ON LAW OF SEA
Press Release
SEA/1674
FINANCIAL ISSUES TO DOMINATE AGENDA AT TENTH MEETING ON LAW OF SEA
20000519 Background ReleaseThe States parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea will hold their tenth meeting at Headquarters from 22 to 26 May, with financial questions among the top issues to be dealt with.
Chief among them is the 2001 budget of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which is requesting a total expenditure of $8,698,900. The tenth meeting will also discuss the Tribunals financial regulations. The Tribunal has been applying the Financial Regulations of the United Nations in the interim period. The meeting will further consider the Tribunal's annual report for 1999 and its audited financial statements for 1998 and 1999.
The Tribunal is one of three institutions set up under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The other two are the International Seabed Authority and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
Other issues on the agenda of the States parties include the rules of procedure of the Meeting of States parties, in particular those dealing with decisions on questions of substance and the establishment of a financial committee. The funding of the participation of members from developing countries in the work of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will also be considered.
There are currently 132 parties to the Convention, comprising 131 States and one entity, the European Community. Nicaragua ratified the Convention on 3 May 2000 and will become a State party 30 days thereafter.
Budget of Tribunal
The Tribunal's budget is based on its anticipated judicial workload, administrative work, and the operation of its new premises in Hamburg. According to the draft budget proposals, a substantial increase in the budget for 2001 is the result of administering the new premises.
The budgetary arrangements first established for the Tribunal were based on the determination of the States Parties that there should be an evolutionary approach optimizing efficiency. Consequently, in the first three years of its functional phase, the Tribunal had operated within the limited staff and resources provided for its organizational phase.
The current budget proposals of the Tribunal envisage the convening of meetings for a total of 10 weeks in the year 2001, six to deal with cases and
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four for organizational matters. The total provision for the remuneration and allowances for the Judges, their pension and travel is $1,760,000.
The Registry, headed by the Registrar, provides the full range of support and assistance required by the Tribunal for dealing with cases, including legal research, documentation and press and media communications. The draft budget for 2001 provides for 16 posts in the Professional and higher categories and 23 posts in the General Service category. The corresponding figures approved in the 2000 budget were 13 for the Professional and higher categories and 21 in the General Service category. The common staff costs for the established posts proposed for the Registry in 2001 are $891,700.
To build up the Working Capital Fund to an operational level, the draft budget envisages the appropriation of $50,000, as in 2000. The Tribunal will also be authorized to transfer to the Fund, on an exceptional basis, up to $200,000 from savings, if any, from the 2001 budget.
The expenses of the Tribunal are to be borne by the parties to the Convention, as well as the International Seabed Authority. The contributions of States parties to the Convention are based upon the scale of assessments for the regular budget of the United Nations for the corresponding financial year, adjusted to take account of participation in the Convention. As of 1 April 2000, the cumulative shortfall in payment of assessed contributions for the period 1996 to 1999 is approximately $1,400,000.
Tribunal's Annual Report
The 21-member Tribunal is one of the dispute settlement forums to which parties to the Convention can submit their disputes. The other forums are the International Court of Justice, arbitral and special arbitral tribunals. The 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. The Tribunal has cost- effective and user-friendly rules, guidelines and procedures for promoting the expeditious resolution of disputes.
On 1 October 1999, the Tribunal members elected Judge P. Chandrasekhara Rao of India to be President of the Tribunal, and four days later, Judge Dolliver Nelson was elected Vice-President. The two will serve for three years.
During the year under review, the Tribunal held two sessions: the seventh session, which took place from 25 February to 16 April 1999, was held in conjunction with the proceedings concerning the MV Saiga case; the eighth session, from 27 September to 8 October 1999, was devoted to organizational matters.
On 1 July 1999, the Tribunal delivered its judgement in the M/V Saiga (No.2) case which concerned a dispute between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Guinea, arising from the arrest and detention of the vessel "Saiga" by the authorities of Guinea. A request for the prompt release of the ship and its
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crew was the subject of the first Judgement of the Tribunal of 4 December 1997, which was subsequently complied with.
By Exchange of Letters of 20 February 1998, the parties agreed to transfer the arbitration proceedings concerning the Saiga instituted by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the Tribunal. The Tribunal held 18 public sittings from 8 to 20 March 1999 to hear oral arguments and presentation of evidence.
On 30 July 1999, the Tribunal received from New Zealand and Australia respectively, requests for the prescription of provisional measures, pending the constitution of an arbitral tribunal, both in a dispute with Japan concerning southern bluefin tuna. Japan filed its statement in response with the Registry on 9 August 1999. The Tribunal delivered its Order in the case on 27 August 1999, instructing the parties to resume negotiations without delay to reach agreement on measures for the conservation and management of southern bluefin tuna and stating that the parties should restrict their catches in the interim.
According to the annual report of the Tribunal, 21 States had signed the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the Tribunal as of 30 June 1999, the closing date for signature. As of 31 December 1999, two States have ratified it. The Agreement will enter into force 30 days after the date of deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession. At the end of December 1999, the negotiations between the Tribunal and the German Government on the Tribunals headquarters have still not been concluded.
Other Institutions
At its last session, the meeting of States parties discussed the issue of financing the participation of members of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf from developing countries in its work, and decided to continue deliberation on the subject at its tenth session. A number of delegations in principle supported the establishment of a trust fund, to be administered by the Secretary-General, that could be used to meet the official travel and accommodation expenses of members of the Commission from developing countries.
With regard to the activities of the International Seabed Authority, the secretary-general of the Authority is expected to address the meeting on the issue.
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