Proceedings before the Seabed Disputes Chamber

(a) General rules

Subject to the provisions of the Convention and the Rules relating specifically to it, proceedings before the Seabed Disputes Chamber and its ad hoc chambers are governed by the Rules applicable in contentious cases before the Tribunal (Rules, article 115).

Articles 117 to 121 of the Rules apply to proceedings in all disputes before the Chamber with the exception of disputes exclusively between States Parties and between States Parties and the International Seabed Authority (Rules, article 116).

(b) Proceedings instituted on behalf of the International Seabed Authority

Proceedings by the Council on behalf of the International Seabed Authority under article 185, paragraph 2, of the Convention are instituted by means of an application. The application is submitted to the Chamber together with a certified copy of the decision or resolution upon which it is based and the full records of all discussions within the International Seabed Authority on the matter (Rules, article 122).

(c) Question submitted by a commercial arbitral tribunal

When a commercial arbitral tribunal refers a question of interpretation of Part XI of the Convention to the Chamber, in accordance with article 188, paragraph 2, of the Convention, a precise statement of the question must be contained in the document submitting the question together with all relevant documents and information in support (Rules, article 123, paragraph 1).

Upon receipt of the document, the parties to the proceedings before the arbitral tribunal and the States Parties are notified of the time-limit fixed by the President of the Chamber within which they may submit their written observations (Rules, article 123, paragraph 2).

There will be oral proceedings if the conditions provided for in article 123, paragraph 3, of the Rules are satisfied.