STATES PARTIES TO LAW OF SEA CONVENTION TO HOLD SEVENTEENTH SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 14-22 JUNE

Background Release

STATES PARTIES TO LAW OF SEA CONVENTION TO HOLD SEVENTEENTH SESSION

AT HEADQUARTERS, 14-22 JUNE

The seventeenth meeting of States parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea opens at Headquarters tomorrow, 14 June, and continues from 18 to 22 June, with a particular focus on the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, in view of the election of that body’s 21 expert members and the workload facing the Commission as it examines submissions by coastal States for the delineation of the continental shelf.

The Convention, adopted on 10 December 1982, became operational on 16 November 1994.  Based on the understanding that “the problems of ocean space are interrelated and need to be considered as a whole”, the instrument, often referred to as “the constitution of the oceans”, has 320 articles and nine annexes, governing all aspects of ocean space and maritime issues, ranging from navigational rights, maritime limits and marine scientific research to management of resources, protection of the marine environment and settlement of disputes. 

The Meetings of States parties -– there are now 155, but two more countries, Lesotho and Morocco deposited their instruments of ratification on 31 May -- deal primarily with elections of members of the International Tribunal and of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, as well as with the Tribunal’s budgetary and administrative matters. 

Law of the Sea “Package”

The 1994 Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the Law of the Sea Convention and the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the Convention relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, which was adopted in 1995 and entered into force in 2001, are part of the United Nations law of the sea “package”.

The three institutions established by the Convention are the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Seabed Authority and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

International Tribunal for Law of Sea

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea was established by the Convention to adjudicate disputes arising out of the interpretation and application of the Convention.  It also has exclusive jurisdiction in disputes concerning deep seabed mineral resources and provides advisory opinions when requested to do so.  Composed of 21 judges elected for nine-year terms by the States parties, the Tribunal is located in the German seaport of Hamburg. 

The Tribunal’s jurisdiction is mandatory in cases relating to the prompt release of vessels and crew or with regard to requests for the prescription of provisional measures pending constitution of an arbitral tribunal. 

According to the Tribunal’s annual report (document SPLOS/152), covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2006, the Tribunal held two sessions devoted to legal matters bearing on its judicial work and other organizational and administrative matters.  The twenty-first session was held from 6 to 17 March 2006 and the twenty-second session from 18 to 29 September 2006. 

Among the issues taken up in the report, it notes that, following an agreement between Chile and the European Community, the Tribunal, by Order dated 20 December 2000, formed a special chamber to deal with a dispute between the two concerning the conservation and sustainable exploitation of swordfish stocks.  By the same Order, the court fixed the time limits for the filing of preliminary objections and of the written pleadings.  Following requests of the parties to extend the time limit, the Special Chamber extended the time limit, most recently, until 1 January 2008.  The case is pending on the docket. 

During its twenty-first and twenty-second sessions, the Tribunal also dealt with judicial and legal matters, including a review of its rules and judicial procedures, the report says.  In considering such legal and judicial matters, the Tribunal followed closely the developments of the rules of procedures of the International Court of Justice and other international courts and tribunals.  Among the main issues it addressed were:  competence of the Tribunal in maritime delimitation cases; guide to proceedings before the Tribunal; matters relating to the Seabed Disputes Chamber; matters relating to the Chamber for Fisheries Disputes; and matters relating to the Chamber for Marine Environment Disputes.

Commission on Limits of Continental Shelf

The purpose of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf is to facilitate implementation of the Convention with respect to delineation of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.  Under the Convention, a coastal State establishes the outer limits of its continental shelf where it extends beyond 200 miles on the basis of the Commission’s recommendations.  The Commission considers the data submitted by coastal States concerning claims to outer limits of the continental shelf that may extend beyond 200 nautical miles.

The Meeting will also elect the Commission’s 21 members, who serve in their personal capacity.  The Commission members are experts in the fields of geology, geophysics, hydrography and geodesy.  The Commission, which held its first session at United Nations Headquarters in 1997, received its first submission by a State party, the Russian Federation, in December 2001. 

The Meeting has before it the following documentation concerning the Commission: Election of Members of the Commission (document SPLOS/149); List of Candidates Nominated for Election (document SPLOS/150 and Add.1); Letter dated 23 April 2007 from the Chairman of the Commission to the President of the seventeenth Meeting (document SPLOS/156); and a note by the Secretariat on issues related to the Commission’s workload (document SPLOS/157).

International Seabed Authority

The International Seabed Authority is the organization through which States parties organize and control activities relating to the deep seabed’s mineral resources in the international seabed area, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.  Inaugurated in 1994, it is located in Kingston, Jamaica.  In 2002, the Authority adopted a “mining code”, which contains regulations on prospecting and exploration for poly-metallic nodules in the Area (defined as “the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction”). 

Additional Documentation

Also before the Meeting is a report on budgetary matters for the financial period 2005-2006 presented by the Tribunal’s Registrar (document SPLOS/154), dated 27 March.  In June 2004, the fourteenth meeting of States parties approved a budgetary amount of 15,506,500 euros for the financial period 2005-2006.  Additional appropriations, totalling up to 880,399 euros, were later approved for the financial period. 

The report documents action taken pursuant to the decisions on budgetary matters by the fifteenth and sixteenth Meetings of States parties.  It also reports on action taken pursuant to the financial regulations of the Tribunal.  Annexed to the document is a performance report detailing the expenditures, including for judges, staff costs, training, official travel, operating expenditure, maintenance of premises, communications, and so forth.

The meeting will also have before it a report of the external auditor for the financial period 2005-2006, with financial statements of the International Tribunal as of 31 December 2006 (document SPLOS/153).  BDO Warentreuhand Aktiengesellschaft audited the Tribunal’s financial statements in February 2007 for the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2006 and submitted its report on 16 February 2007.  The Auditor was of the view that the financial statements were in accordance with the Tribunal’s financial regulations and rules, and gave a true and fair view of the net assets, financial position and results of operations.

States parties will also have before them a letter dated 27 March from the Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations, Raymond O. Wolfe, in his capacity as President of the sixteenth meeting of States parties, addressed to the Secretariat (document SPLOS/155).  In it, he conveys the nomination of Senegal for membership of the staff pension committee. 

The report of the sixteenth meeting of States parties will also be before the session (document SPLOS/148).

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For information media • not an official record