Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) (Request for Advisory Opinion submitted to the Tribunal)

The Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission is a regional fisheries organization composed of seven member States: Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone. During its fourteenth session (27-28 March 2013), the Conference of Ministers of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission adopted a resolution by which it decided, in accordance with article 33 of the Convention on the Determination of the Minimal Conditions for Access and Exploitation of Marine Resources within the Maritime Areas under Jurisdiction of the Member States of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission, of 2012, to authorize the Permanent Secretary of the Commission to seize the Tribunal in order to obtain its advisory opinion on the following matters:

(1) What are the obligations of the flag State in cases where illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities are conducted within the exclusive economic zone of third-party States?

(2) To what extent shall the flag State be held liable for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities conducted by vessels sailing under its flag?

(3) Where a fishing licence is issued to a vessel within the framework of an international agreement with the flag State or with an international agency, s hall the State or international agency be held liable for the violation of the fisheries legislation of the coastal State by the vessel in question?

(4) What are the rights and obligations of the coastal State in ensuring the sustainable management of shared stocks and stocks of common interest, especially the small pelagic species and tuna?

The request was received by the Tribunal on 28 March 2013 and entered in the list of cases of the Tribunal as case No. 21.

On 24 May 2013, the Tribunal adopted an Order and fixed 29 November 2013 as the time limit for the presentation of written statements. The time limit was extended to 19 December 2013 by an Order of the President dated 3 December 2013.

Within this time limit, written statements were filed by the following States parties to the Convention, which are listed in chronological order by date of submission: Saudi Arabia, Germany, New Zealand, China, Somalia, Ireland, Federated States of Micronesia, Australia, Japan, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Thailand, Netherlands, European Union, Cuba, France, Spain, Montenegro, Switzerland and Sri Lanka. Within the same time limit, written statements were also submitted by SRFC and the following six organizations, which are listed in chronological order by date of submission: Forum Fisheries Agency, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism, United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Central American Fisheries and Aquaculture Organization. All the statements were posted on the website of the Tribunal.

A statement by a State not party to the Convention (United States of America) was submitted to the Tribunal. The Tribunal decided that this statement should be considered as part of the case file and should be posted on the Tribunal’s website, in a separate section of documents related to the case, entitled “States parties to the 1995 Straddling Fish Stocks Agreement”.

In addition, a statement was submitted by an international non-governmental organization (World Wide Fund for Nature), which was informed by the Registrar, in a letter dated 4 December 2013, that its statement would not be considered part of the case file, but would be placed on the Tribunal’s website in a separate section of documents relating to the case.

By an Order dated 20 December 2013, the President fixed 14 March 2014 as the time limit within which States parties to the Convention and intergovernmental organizations having presented written statements could submit written statements on the statements made.

Within this time limit, additional written statements were submitted by the following States parties, which are listed in chronological order by date of submission: United Kingdom, New Zealand, European Union, Netherlands and Thailand. Within the same time limit, an additional written statement was also submitted by SRFC. All the statements were posted on the website of the Tribunal.

In addition, a statement was submitted by the World Wide Fund for Nature, which was informed by the Registrar, in a letter dated 20 March 2014, that its statement would not be included in the case file but would be placed on the Tribunal’s website in a separate section of documents relating to the case.

By an Order dated 14 April 2014, the President fixed 2 September 2014 as the date for the opening of the oral proceedings and invited the States parties, SRFC and the intergovernmental organizations listed in the annex to the Order of the Tribunal of 24 May 2013 to participate in the proceedings.

Prior to the opening of the oral proceedings, the Tribunal held initial deliberations on 29 August and 1 September 2014.

The hearing took place from 2 to 5 September 2014, during which statements were made at four public sittings by States parties and international organizations in the following order: SRFC, Germany, Argentina, Australia, Chile, Spain, Federated States of Micronesia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Thailand, European Union, Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism and International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The Tribunal delivered its advisory opinion on 2 April 2015.