Twentieth Anniversary
In 2016, the Tribunal celebrated its 20th anniversary with an official ceremony in the City Hall of Hamburg with the participation of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Prior to the ceremony, an international symposium provided an opportunity to look back on the Tribunal’s contribution to the rule of law over the 20 years. Bringing together judges, legal advisors, counsel, practitioners and scholars to reflect on the jurisprudence of the Tribunal, the symposium also reviewed the role played by the Tribunal in the progressive development of international law.
Mr Ban Ki Moon’s visit to the Tribunal and the ensuing official ceremony marked the culmination of the anniversary events, a fitting tribute to the Tribunal’s first 20 years of successful and peaceful adjudication of law of the sea disputes.
On 18 March 2017, the Triunal held a symposium entitled “ITLOS at 20: Looking into the future”. This symposium concluded the series of events on the occasion of the Tribunal’s 20th Anniversary.
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The solemn ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea took place on 7 October 2016 in the City Hall of Hamburg. Mr Joachim Gauck, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Olaf Scholz, First Mayor and President of the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, and Mr Vladimir Golitsyn, President of the Tribunal, participated in the ceremony, which was attended by more than 500 guests.
On the occasion of its 20th Anniversary, the Tribunal held a one-and-a-half day international symposium at the premises of the Tribunal on 5 and 6 October 2016, on the theme “The contribution of the Tribunal to the Rule of Law”.
The aim of the symposium was to highlight the role played by the Tribunal over the last 20 years in the system for the peaceful settlement of law of the sea related disputes, set out in Part XV of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Approximately 180 international guest attended the symposium, which was designed for academics and legal practitioners. The symposium was organized with the financial support of the Government of Japan
The symposium programme included speakers representing both sides of the bench, with Judges of the Tribunal, the International Court of Justice and other judicial institutions, academics, lawyers and counsel who have appeared before international courts and tribunals. The panel discussions explored the following topics: ‘The Tribunal’s jurisprudence and its contribution to the rule of law’; ‘The contribution of the Tribunal to the progressive development of international law’; ‘The contribution of the Tribunal to the rule of law: the point of view of practitioners’; and ‘Improving working methods in international adjudication’.
Publication
The Contribution of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to the Rule of Law: 1996-2016 reproduces the statements presented during the symposium, in the order in which they were delivered and in their original language. The question and answer sessions have not been transcribed for this volume. This volume was financed by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. It is published by and available from Brill Nijhoff.
On 18 March 2017, the Tribunal held a symposium entitled “ITLOS at 20: Looking into the future”. This symposium concluded the series of events on the occasion of the Tribunal’s 20th Anniversary.
Publication
The volume ITLOS at 20: Looking into the future reproduces the statements presented during the symposium and the question and answer sessions in the order in which they were delivered and in their original language. Copies may be obtained from the Press Office of the Tribunal.