Calendar of Events 2020

The International Foundation for the Law of the Sea will hold its 14th Summer Academy, ‘Promoting Ocean Governance and Peaceful Settlement of Disputes’, at the seat of the Tribunal in Hamburg from 9 August to 4 September 2020.

The Tribunal is pleased to announce the launch of its 2020-2021 capacity-building and training programme on dispute settlement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is organized with the support of the Nippon Foundation. The programme is aimed at junior to mid-level government officials and researchers who are currently working on issues related to the law of the sea, maritime law or dispute settlement.

The Tribunal's first newsletter for 2020 is now available.

ITLOS and the IMO co-host a Symposium at IMO headquarters in London.

The Judges of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea elected Mr Antoine Ollivier, of French nationality, as the Deputy Registrar of the Tribunal today.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, visits to the premises of the Tribunal are restricted until further notice.

The Tribunal's second newsletter for 2020 is now available.

In a virtual ceremony held on 11 June 2020, Judge Paik, President of the Tribunal, and Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, Mr K. Shanmugam SC, signed letters on behalf of the Tribunal and Singapore for the adoption of a Model Agreement establishing the terms and conditions under which the Government of Singapore agrees to provide the appropriate facilities for the Tribunal or one of its chambers to sit or otherwise exercise its functions in Singapore.

While the COVID-19 pandemic clearly poses a challenge to the Tribunal’s work, steps are being taken to ensure that the upcoming administrative session of the Tribunal at the end of September, the swearing-in of the newly-elected Judges and the hearing in the Dispute concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius/Maldives) in October will take place as planned.

Seven Members of the Tribunal have been elected this week by the Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The election took place from 24 to 26 August 2020, during the first in-person meeting held in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters in New York since the lockdown in March 2020.

The Tribunal's third newsletter for 2020 is now available.

By Order of 15 September 2020, the Tribunal decided that Judge Pawlak would fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Judge Cot from the Special Chamber.

The Tribunal amended its Rules in order to provide that the Tribunal may decide, as an exceptional measure, for public health, security or other compelling reasons, to hold hearings and meetings entirely or in part by video link.

At a public ceremony held this afternoon, Ms María Teresa Infante Caffi (Chile), Mr Jielong Duan (China), Ms Kathy-Ann Brown (Jamaica), Ms Ida Caracciolo (Italy), and Mr Maurice Kamga (Cameroon) were sworn in as members of the Tribunal. The five judges were elected at the thirtieth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to serve a term of nine years, commencing on 1 October 2020.

Judge Hoffmann (South Africa) was today elected by the members of the Tribunal as President and Judge Heidar (Iceland) as Vice-President for the period 2020-2023. The election took place during the fiftieth administrative session of the Tribunal, which is taking place in a hybrid format, with fifteen judges present in the courtroom and six attending remotely via videolink. The election was held using a secure electronic voting system.

On 12 November 2020, the statement of Judge Albert Hoffmann, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, was submitted to the 30th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention.

The Tribunal's final newsletter for 2020 is now available.