STATES PARTIES TO CONVENTION ON LAW OF SEA URGED TO SUPPORT EURO AS CURRENCY OF REFERENCE FOR INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL

Meeting of States Parties

to Law of Sea Convention

64^th Meeting (AM)

STATES PARTIES TO CONVENTION ON LAW OF SEA URGED TO SUPPORT EURO

AS CURRENCY OF REFERENCE FOR INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL

In a brief meeting this morning, the States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea were urged to support the euro as the currency of reference for the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.

The representative of Spain, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that, in past sessions, the States Parties had discussed a range of issues in connection with the currency of reference for the International Tribunal.  Previously, a proposal had been tabled by Germany, but no decision had been made.  Since that time, on 1 January, the euro had been introduced as “real” currency in Europe.

At present, he continued, the currency for 12 of the 15 member States of the European Union was the euro.  A process had begun to recognize the euro as the reference currency in many international organizations -- including several within the United Nations family -- which were headquartered in European States and cities.

The euro was now the second leading currency in the world, he pointed out, adding that since the Tribunal sat in Hamburg, Germany, it was logical to assume that most of that body’s financial transaction and contributions would be in euros.  The Tribunal and, by extension, the States Parties and other affiliated bodies would save time and money by not having to deal with exchange rates and transaction fees. 

He added that the matter had been settled in the case of the recently established International Criminal Court.  The States Parties could use the draft programme budget and financial regulations of the Court to guide their decision.  Those regulations noted that the figures pertaining to financial transactions and contributions expressed in the currency of the headquarters of the Court, Rome, Italy.  In the case of the Tribunal, the States Parties could stipulate that contributions could also be paid in any currency that could be freely converted to the currency of the Tribunal.

Also this morning, the States Parties heard a statement by the representative of Bangladesh.  He said his country was a coastal nation with seafaring traditions.  As such, the sea played an important role in people's lives, and that would only increase.  With that in mind, he emphasized the tremendous importance of the Convention and the various organs created under it,

64^th Meeting (AM)

including the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and the International Seabed Authority.  As a State Party to the Convention, Bangladesh would actively participate in all relevant initiatives aimed at ensuring the best sustainable use of the sea and its resources for the common good of all.

Like many developing countries, Bangladesh could greatly benefit from the cooperation and technical assistance of other States and relevant institutions in capacity-building and developing expertise in areas covered by the Convention on the Law of the Sea.  Such cooperation could take the form of training in legal issues, and assistance in preparing a national submission to delineate the continental shelf or in surveying for coastal and seabed mapping.

The twelfth meeting of the States Parties will reconvene tomorrow, Friday, at 10 a.m., to elect seven members for new terms on the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.

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