CONCLUDING CURRENT SESSION, MEETING OF STATES PARTIES TO LAW OF SEA CONVENTION APPROVES CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE REPORT

Meeting of States Parties

to Law of Sea Convention

76^th Meeting (AM)             

CONCLUDING CURRENT SESSION, MEETING OF STATES PARTIES TO LAW OF SEA CONVENTION

APPROVES CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE REPORT

Concluding its thirteenth session, the Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Law of the Sea took stock of its week-long meeting and approved its Credentials Committee’s report, which accepted the credentials for a total of 112 parties to the Convention.

Summarizing the session, Meeting President Stanislaw Pawlak (Poland) said the Meeting had had a full programme of work this year, with budget matters demanding most of its time and calling for creativity to reach compromises acceptable to all delegates.  The Meeting had also heard statements from the President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority and the Chairman of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

Reviewing the Tribunal’s draft budget proposal for 2004, he said the Meeting’s Working Group on Budgetary and Financial Matters had made some savings regarding communications and purchase of equipment.  Reflecting an overall increase of $240,700 due to fluctuations in exchange rate and increases in common staff costs, the budget approved by the Meeting amounted to $8,039,000.  Also regarding the budget, the Meeting decided there would no further appropriations to the Working Capital Fund until its amount had been reduced to 8 per cent of the overall Tribunal budget.

The President also highlighted the need to ensure the full and timely payment of dues to the Tribunal, so that it could function effectively.  The Secretary-General of the Seabed Authority had also underlined the need to pay contributions to that body in full and on time, and stressed the importance of increased attendance at Authority meetings.  Proposals had been made to set up a trust fund to assist representatives of developing and least-developed countries to attend those meetings, as well as to consider scheduling Authority sessions at a more suitable time of the year.

Having considered Japan’s proposal to reduce the ceiling rate of Tribunal assessments, the Meeting had reduced that rate from 25 to 24 per cent for 2004, and to 22 per cent for 2005-2006, he said.  Other decisions adopted during the Meeting focused on the treatment of some $2.3 million in the staff assessment fund; shortfalls resulting from exchange rate fluctuations; and death and disability benefits for Tribunal members.  He added that the adoption by States parties of the financial regulations of the Tribunal would allow the court to submit a biennial budget guided by sound financial guidelines, and would also mean that the Meeting only considered budgetary matters every two years.

Another important issue arising during the Meeting, he noted, was whether the Meeting of States Parties should be confined to administrative and budgetary issues.  A lively discussion took place on article 319 of the Convention, under which the Meetings of States Parties are convened.  While several delegations advocated expanding the Meeting’s role, others opposed it, with some suggesting a middle road between the two approaches.  By way of compromise, the Meeting decided to retain the item on the agenda of the fourteenth Meeting.

The Meeting had also heard a statement from the representative of the Centre for Seafarers’ Rights, he continued, who drew the States parties’ attention to the need to ensure safety and protection of seafarers’ rights.

In conclusion, he informed the States parties that the proposed dates of the next Meeting would be 14 to 18 June next year, preceded by one week of meetings of the Informal Consultative Process.  He suggested that the agenda of the Meeting should include the report and the draft budget of the Tribunal; appointment of auditors and report of External Auditors for 2002; report of the Tribunal on issues related to staff assessment; and matters related to article 319 of the Convention.

Also this morning, the Meeting decided that the election to fill the vacancy left by the demise of Judge Lennox Fitzroy Ballah (Trinidad and Tobago) would be held on 2 September at a Special Meeting of States Parties.  Both the Bureau and Credentials Committee would remain the same for the Special Meeting, which would have two main agenda items –- the Credentials Committee report from its 2 September Meeting, and the election for the new judge.

In addition, the representative of the European Union informed the Meeting that the Union would make a contribution of $78,000 to the Tribunal budget, which would correspond to changes in the budget. 

At the end of the meeting, Japan’s representative said that his country’s proposal on the scale of assessments had been among issues that had taken up much time during the Meeting, and he thanked the participants in the consultations.

Congratulatory remarks were also made by representatives of Sierra Leone (on behalf of the African Group); Czech Republic (on behalf of Eastern European States); Austria (on behalf of Western European and Other States); Bolivia (on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group), Greece (on behalf of the European Union); and Singapore (on behalf of the Asian Group).

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