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International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

Intergovernmental organization

Field	Value
conventional_long_name	International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
native_name	fr
linking_name	the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
symbol_type	Official logo
image_symbol	ITLOS logo.svg
symbol_width	150px
map_width	240px
map_caption
membership_type	Judges from
membership	21 nations
admin_center_type	Location
admin_center	Germany Hamburg, Germany
languages_type	Working languages
languages
leader_title1	President
leader_name1	Iceland Judge Tomas Heidar
leader_title2	Vice President
leader_name2	India Judge Neeru Chadha
established_event1	UNCLOS adopted
established_date1	10 December 1982
established_event2	UNCLOS in force
established_date2	16 November 1994
official_website	https://www.itlos.org/

| Dark blue: States with judges in the ITLOS | Dark green: States formerly with judges in the ITLOS | Light green: Other UNCLOS parties

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is an intergovernmental organization created by the mandate of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. It was established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed at Montego Bay, Jamaica, on December 10, 1982. The Convention entered into force on November 16, 1994, and established an international framework for law over all ocean space, its uses and resources. The ITLOS is one of four dispute resolution mechanisms listed in Article 287 of the UNCLOS. Although the Tribunal was established by a United Nations convention, it is not, as such, a United Nations agency. Even so, it maintains close links with the United Nations and in 1997 the Tribunal concluded an Agreement on Cooperation and Relationship between the United Nations and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which establishes a mechanism for cooperation between the two institutions.

The Tribunal is based in Hamburg, Germany. The Convention also established the International Seabed Authority, with responsibility for the regulation of seabed mining beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, that is beyond the limits of the territorial sea, the contiguous zone and the continental shelf. As of July 2024, there are currently 157 signatories, 169 participant states plus the European Union. , holdouts included the United States and Iran.

Composition

According to its founding statute, the Tribunal has a set of 21 judges who serve from a variety of states parties, "according to a method that intends to assure an equitable geographical representation".

At the request of Chile and the European Union, the Tribunal set up a special chamber composed of five judges to deal with the Case concerning the Conservation and Sustainable Exploitation of Swordfish Stocks in the South-Eastern Pacific Ocean (Chile/European Community).

By agreement of the parties Ghana and Ivory Coast, the Tribunal formed a special chamber composed of five judges to deal with the Dispute concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean (Ghana/Côte d'Ivoire).

By agreement of the parties Mauritius and Maldives, the Tribunal formed a special chamber of seven permanent judges and two ad hoc judges to deal with the Dispute concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius/Maldives).

Seats

Disputes referred to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea or one of its chambers can be heard in Germany or in Singapore. So far, no case has been heard outside Germany.

Current judges

Country	Name	Inauguration	President	Vice president
Cabo Verde Cabo Verde	José Luís Jesus	1999	2008–2011
Algeria Algeria	Boualem Bouguetaia	2008		2014–2017
Malta Malta	David Attard	2011		2017–2020
Ukraine Ukraine	Markiyan Kulyk	2011
Iceland Iceland	Tomas Heiðar	2014	2023–present
Paraguay Paraguay	Óscar Cabello Sarubbi	2017
India India	Neeru Chadha	2017		2023–present
Thailand Thailand	Kriangsak Kittichaisaree	2017
Russia Russia	Roman Kolodkin	2017
Netherlands Netherlands	Liesbeth Lijnzaad	2017
Chile Chile	María Teresa Infante Caffi	2020
China China	Duan Jielong	2020
Jamaica Jamaica	Kathy-Ann Brown	2020
Italy Italy	Ida Caracciolo	2020
Cameroon Cameroon	Maurice Kamga	2020
Argentina Argentina	Frida Maria Armas Pfirter	2023
Japan Japan	Hidehisa Horinouchi	2023
South Africa South Africa	Thembile Elphus Joyini	2023
South Korea South Korea	Zha Hyoung Rhee	2023
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone	Osman Keh Kamara	2023
Poland Poland	Konrad Jan Marciniak	2023

Former judges

Country	Name	Inauguration	Until	President	Vice president
Lebanon Lebanon	Joseph Akl	1996	2017		2005–2008
United Kingdom United Kingdom	David Heywood Anderson	1996	2005
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago	Lennox Fitzroy Ballah	2002	2003
Brazil Brazil	Antonio Cachapuz de Medeiros	2016	2016
Argentina Argentina	Hugo Caminos	1996	2011
India India	P. Chandrasekhara Rao	1996	2017	1999–2002
France France	Jean-Pierre Cot	2002	2020
Iceland Iceland	Guðmundur Eiríksson	1996	2002
Cameroon Cameroon	Paul Engo	1996	2008
China China	Gao Zhiguo	2008	2020
Mexico Mexico	Alonso Gómez-Robledo Verduzco	2014	2023
Russia Russia	Vladimir Golitsyn	2008	2017	2014–2017
South Africa South Africa	Albert Hoffmann	2005	2023	2020–2023	2011–2014
Grenada Tanzania	James Kateka	2005	2023
Argentina Argentina	Elsa Kelly	2011	2020
Russia Russia	Anatoly Kolodkin	1996	2008
Belize Belize	Edward Arthur Laing	1996	2001
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago	Anthony Lucky	2003	2020
Brazil Brazil	Vicente Marotta Rangel	1996	2015
Tunisia Tunisia	Mohamed Mouldi Marsit	1996	2005
Ghana Ghana	Thomas Mensah	1996	2005	1996–1999
Senegal Senegal	Tafsir Malick Ndiaye	1996	2020
Grenada Grenada	Dolliver Nelson	1996	2014	2002–2005	1999–2002
South Korea South Korea	Paik Jin-hyun	2009	2023	2017–2020
South Korea South Korea	Choon-ho Park	1996	2008
Poland Poland	Stanisław Pawlak	2005	2023
Italy Italy	Tullio Treves	1996	2011
Austria Austria	Helmut Türk	2005	2014		2008–2011
Croatia Croatia	Budislav Vukas	1996	2005		2002–2005
Tanzania Tanzania	Joseph Warioba	1996	2008
Germany Germany	Rüdiger Wolfrum	1996	2017	2005–2008	1996–1999
China China	Xu Guangjian	2001	2007
Japan Japan	Soji Yamamoto	1996	2005
Japan Japan	Shunji Yanai	2005	2023	2011–2014
Bulgaria Bulgaria	Alexander Yankov	1996	2011
China China	Zhao Lihai	1996	2000

Cases

Name	Applicant	Respondent	Case began	Case ended	Disposition
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Guinea			Judgment on prompt release
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Guinea			Judgment on merits
Southern Bluefin Tuna Cases	New Zealand	Japan			Order on provisional measures
Australia
	Panama	France			Judgment on prompt release
	Seychelles	France			Judgment on prompt release
	Chile / European Union			Terminated at request of parties
	Belize	France			Judgment on prompt release
	Panama	Yemen			Terminated at request of parties
	Ireland	United Kingdom			Order on provisional measures
	Russia	Australia			Judgment on prompt release
	Malaysia	Singapore			Order on provisional measures
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Guinea-Bissau			Judgment on prompt release
	Japan	Russia			Judgment on prompt release
	Japan	Russia			Judgment on prompt release
	Bangladesh / Myanmar			Judgment on merits
Responsibilities and Obligations of States Sponsoring Persons and Entities with Respect to Activities in the Area	International Seabed Authority			Advisory opinion
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Spain			Judgment on merits
	Panama / Guinea-Bissau			Judgment on merits
	Argentina	Ghana			Order on provisional measures
Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC)	Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission			Advisory opinion
	Kingdom of the Netherlands	Russia			Order on provisional measures
	Ghana / Ivory Coast			Judgment on merits
	Italy	India			Order on provisional measures
	Panama	Italy			Judgment on merits
	Ukraine	Russia			Order on provisional measures
	Switzerland	Nigeria			Order on provisional measures
	Mauritius / Maldives		Ongoing
	Switzerland / Nigeria			Terminated at request of parties
	Marshall Islands	Equatorial Guinea			Terminated at request of applicant
Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law	Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law		21 May 2024	Advisory Opinion
The M/T "Heroic Idun" (No. 2) Case	Marshall Islands / Equatorial Guinea	27 April 2023	Ongoing
The “Zheng He” Case	Luxembourg	Mexico	3 June 2024	Ongoing

References

"International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: Relationship with the United Nations".
"United Nations Treaty Collection".
"International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: Seat".
"Forum Shopping for the Best Adjudicator: Conflict Management and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos)". American Political Science Association.
Auto, Hermes. (2020-06-11). "Law of the sea disputes can now be heard in Singapore under signed agreement {{!}} The Straits Times".
(2016). "3. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)". Yearbook of International Environmental Law.
Groves, Steven. (12 March 2012). "Accession to U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea Would Expose the U.S. to Baseless Climate Change Lawsuits". The Heritage Foundation.
"International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: Seat".
(27 September 2019). "Press release".
ITLOS. "ITLOS AND SINGAPORE SIGN MODEL AGREEMENT TO ENABLE THE TRIBUNAL TO SIT IN SINGAPORE".
(22 July 2019). "Iran strikes in Strait of Hormuz as Middle East tanker tensions explode". Trade Winds.

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