States Parties to Law of Sea Convention Elect International Tribunal Member, Postpone Election for Vacancy on Continental Shelf Commission

The twenty-fifth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea resumed today, electing by secret ballot one member of its International Tribunal and postponing an election to fill a vacancy in its Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.  (For background information, see Press Release SEA/2027.)

Often referred to as “the constitution for the oceans”, the Convention, in force since 16 November 1994, governs all aspects of ocean space and maritime issues, from navigational rights, maritime limits and marine scientific research to resource management, marine environment protection and dispute settlement.

The 21-member International Tribunal comprises independent experts in the law of the sea, reputed for their fairness and integrity.  The Commission consists of 21 experts in geology, geophysics and hydrography, all of whom serve in their personal capacity.  Both bodies, along with the International Seabed Authority, support the Convention’s implementation.

Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, said it was critical to ensure they were fully staffed with an equitable geographic distribution of members.

At the moment, the Commission was faced with a significant workload, with 77 submissions received, he said, noting that the current lack of a full membership had directly hindered the discharge of its functions, increasing the workload of other members and impairing their conditions of service in considering submissions.  Raising concerns that resumed meetings represented a significant strain on already limited resources, he hoped the matter would be considered at the Convention’s twenty-sixth Meeting.

The Meeting then elected, by 126 votes in favour with one abstention, Antonio Cachapuz de Medeiros (Brazil) to serve on the International Tribunal following the resignation of Judge Vincente Marotta Rangel (Brazil) on 18 May 2015.  (See documents SPLOS/288, SPLOS/289 and SPLOS/290.)  Mr. Cachapuz de Medeiros would fill that vacancy for the remainder of Mr. Rangel’s nine-year term, set to end on 30 September 2017.

Meeting President Kriangsak Kittichaisaree (Thailand) said the election to fill a vacancy in the Commission (document SPLOS/291) following the resignation of Nenad Leder (Croatia) on 22 September 2015 would be postponed until the twenty-sixth Meeting of States Parties in June.  The postponement was due to the lack of nominated candidates during the nomination period, which ended on 31 December 2015.  Proposing to discuss the course of action to fill the vacancy, he then had opened the deliberations on that agenda item.

Briefing the Meeting on the status of nominations and timeframe needed by the Eastern European Group of States to identify candidates, the representative of Albania said despite great efforts Member States were not in a position to nominate a candidate to fill the vacancy.

Mr. Kittichaisaree noted that States parties wanted the election to be held at the twenty-sixth Meeting, and that the Commission should resume its work as planned to discharge its functions effectively and efficiently.

Regarding the filling of vacancies for the twenty-fifth Meeting, he said that since Vice-Presidents Metod Spacek (Slovak Republic) and Alejandro Sousa (Mexico) were no longer able to serve out, one nomination had been made by the representative of Trinidad and Tobago.  States parties then elected Pablo Adrián Arrocha Olabuenaga (Mexico) to replace Mr. Sousa for the remainder of his term; the election to replace Mr. Spacek was postponed.

In other business, the Meeting heard an update from Alexandra Lennox-Marwick (New Zealand), Co-Coordinator of the Open-Ended Working Group on the Conditions of Service of the Members of the Commission.  She said she would continue to consult with Member States to identify a successor before her departure from the United Nations Headquarters in March 2016.  However, there was no candidate at the moment.

The States parties also adopted the Meeting’s agenda (document SPLOS/L.76) and organization of work, and took note of the Report of the Credentials Committee.  Natalie Morris-Sharma (Singapore), its Acting Chair, gave an oral update to the Report approved by the twenty-fifth Meeting (document SPLOS/285).  The Report reflected the receipt, amendment and issuance of credentials, including those from 95 participating States, she said, noting that the updates would be reflected in an addendum to the full Report.