States Parties
The Tribunal is open to States Parties and to entities other than States Parties in any case expressly provided for in Part XI or in any case submitted pursuant to any other agreement conferring jurisdiction on the Tribunal which is accepted by all the parties to that case. There are currently 170 States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (status of the Convention and of the Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the Convention).
Meetings of States Parties
The Convention provides, in article 319, paragraph 2 (e), that the Secretary-General of the United Nations "shall convene necessary meetings of States Parties in accordance with this Convention". The matters addressed by the meetings include elections of members of the Tribunal and administrative and financial matters of the Tribunal, including its budget (Meetings of States Parties).
The Tribunal submits an annual report to the Meeting of States Parties pursuant to rule 6, paragraph 3(d), of the Rules of Procedure for Meetings of States Parties for its consideration. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, the President and the Registrar of the Tribunal are invited to Meetings of States Parties and may make written or oral statements concerning any question under consideration by the Meeting and provide information about the Tribunal.