Where is the Tribunal Held? (Art.

1)
The seat of the Tribunal shall be in the Free and
Hanseatic City of Hamburg in the Federal Republic of
Germany.
October 1, 1996
The Tribunal may sit and exercise its functions
elsewhere whenever it considers this desirable.
ITLOS Hamburg, Germany
ORGANIZATION OF THE TRIBUNAL (Art. 2)
The Tribunal shall be composed of a body of 21
independent members, elected from among persons
enjoying the highest reputation for fairness and
integrity and of recognized competence in the field of
the law of the sea.
In the Tribunal as a whole the representation of the
principal legal systems of the world and equitable
geographical distribution shall be assured.
Division of the Organization
African Group, Asian Group, Latin American and
Caribbean Group, Western European Group and other
states Group, Eastern European Group.
5 judges from African group
5 judges from Asian group
4 judges from the Latin American and Caribbean Group
4 judges from the Western European and other states
group
3 judges from the Eastern European Group
Membership (Art. 3)
No two members of the Tribunal may be nationals of
the same State. A person who for the purposes of
membership in the Tribunal could be regarded as a
national of more than one State shall be deemed to be
a national of the one in which he ordinarily exercises
civil and political rights.
There shall be no fewer than three members from
each geographical group as established by the General
Assembly of the United Nations.
Members of the ITLOS
President 
Shunji Yanai (Japan) 
Vice-President
Albert J. Hoffmann (South Africa)
Judges
Vicente Marotta Rangel (Brazil)
L. Dolliver M. Nelson (Grenada)
P. Chandrasekhara Rao (India)                
Joseph Akl (Lebanon)                         
Rüdiger Wolfrum (Germany) 
Members of the ITLOS
Tafsir Malick Ndiaye (Senegal)        
José Luis Jesus (Cape Verde)
Jean-Pierre Cot (France)                                                           
Anthony Amos Lucky (Trinidad and Tobago)
Stanislaw Pawlak (Poland)        
Helmut Türk (Austria)              
James L. Kateka (United Republic of Tanzania)   
Zhiguo Gao (China)
Boualem Bouguetaia (Algeria)                                             
Vladimir Vladimirovich Golitsyn (Russian Federation)    
Jin-Hyun Paik (Republic of Korea)
Elsa Kelly (Argentina)
David Joseph Attard (Malta)
Markiyan Z. Kulyk (Ukraine)
Nominations and elections(Art. 4)
Each State Party may nominate not more than two persons
having the qualifications prescribed in article 2 of this
Annex. The members of the Tribunal shall be elected from
the list of persons thus nominated.
3 months before the date of the election,
the Secretary-General of the United Nations
 shall address a written invitation to the States Parties to submit their
nominations for members of the Tribunal within two months
 prepare a list in alphabetical order of all the persons thus nominated,
with an indication of the States Parties which have nominated them
 submit it to the States Parties before the seventh day of the last month
before the date of each election.
Nominations and elections(Art. 4)
The members of the Tribunal shall be elected by secret ballot.
 Elections shall be held at a meeting of the States Parties
convened by the Secretary-General of the UN
Currently done in New York Every 3 years for 1/3 of the members
Two thirds of the States Parties shall constitute a quorum at
that meeting.
The persons elected to the Tribunal shall be those nominees
who obtain the largest number of votes and a two-thirds
majority of the States Parties present and voting.
Term of office (Art. 5)
9 years and may be re-elected
1st election: 7 members = 3 years, other 7= 6 years.
 Chosen by lot to be drawn by the SG of the UN
If replaced, they shall finish any proceedings which
they may have begun before the date of their
replacement.
In the case of the resignation of a member of the
Tribunal, the letter of resignation shall be addressed to
the President of the Tribunal. The place becomes
vacant on the receipt of that letter.
Some Incompatible activities of the
members of the ITLOS (Art. 7)
Exercise political or administrative functions
Associate actively with the exploration of the
resources of the sea or seabed.
Agent, counsel, or advocate in any case
The President, VP, and Registrar (Art. 12)
The president and Vice-president is elected every 3
years and may be re-elected
The registrar is appointed by the tribunal
Quorum (Art. 13)
11 elected members
Tribunal determines which members are available to
constitute the tribunal
The Chambers of the Tribunal
Seabed Disputes Chamber
Settle disputes concerning:
 activities in the deep seabed mining
 Between state Party and the International Seabed Authority
pertaining to violations of the UNCLOS
 Between parties to a contract relating to activities in the area
(interpretation, application, plan of work
The Chambers of the Tribunal
Consists of 11 members to be selected by a majority of
the tribunal
 3 judges from the African group
 3 judges from the Asian group
 2 judges from the Latin American and Caribbean group
 2 judges from the Western European and other states group
 1 judge from the Eastern European group

Parties may request an Ad Hoc Chamber to have

jurisdiction over disputes
 Composed of 3 members of the seabed disputes chamber
The Chambers of the Tribunal
Special Chambers
3 kinds
 Summary Procedure
 Standing chambers to deal with particular categories of
disputes
 chambers to deal with particular disputes at the request of the
parties, so called ad hoc chambers
Chamber of Summary Procedure
Speedy dispatch of Business
May hear and determine a case by summary procedure
if the parties so request
Standing Chambers for particular disputes
Chamber for Fisheries Disputes
Chamber for Marine Environment
Disputes
Chamber for Maritime Delimitation
Disputes
Chamber of Fisheries Disputes
Deals with any provision concerning the conservation
and management of marine life and aquatic resources
Also deals with any provision of any other agreement
relating to conservation and management of marine
life which confers jurisdiction on the Tribunal
 Deals with the provision of the convention concerning
protection and preservation of marine environment
Chamber for Marine Environment Disputes

Provisions of special conservations and agreements

relating to preservation and protection of marine
environment of article 237 of the convention
(Obligations under other conventions on the protection
and preservation of the marine environment.)
provision of any agreement relating to the protection
and preservation of the marine environment which
confers jurisdiction on the Tribunal.
Experts of the Tribunal
The Tribunal may, at the request of a party, select no
fewer than 2 scientific or technical experts. Selection is
made with the consultation of the parties and such
experts sit with the tribunal.
These experts shall have no voting power but shall
take part in the deliberations
(Art. 289 of the UNCLOS)
Committee of the Tribunal
The Tribunal has 5 committees, each dealing with a
specific functions
Rules and Judicial Practice
Budget and Finance
Staff and Administration
Library and Publication
Building and Electronic system
Access and Jurisdiction (Art. 20-21)
Open to all state parties
Open to entities other than State parties in any case
conferring jurisdiction on the Tribunal which is
accepted by all parties to that case
Comprises all disputes and all applications submitted
to it in accordance with the UNCLOS
Jurisdiction
Any dispute submitted to it in accordance with the
UNCLOS concerning interpretation or application of
an international agreement
Also includes matters submitted to it under any
agreement
Procedural aspect (Art. 24-34)
Settlement Procedure
UNCLOS provides freedom to the State Parties to settle
dispute either through negotiations or diplomatic
measures
If there is no settlement, the Parties could request the
Tribunal to have jurisdiction over the issue
Procedural aspect (Art. 24-34)
The State Parties could choose among the following to
settle their disputes
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea -
ITLOS
The International Court of Justice -ICJ
An Arbitral Tribunal constituted in accordance with
Annex VII
A Special Arbitral Tribunal constituted in accordance
with Annex VIII.
Procedural aspect (Art. 24-34)
As of December 2005, forty-one states have made a
declaration concerning their choice of procedures1.
Twenty-six states have indicated the International
Tribunal for Law of the Sea as their means for
settlement of disputes.
A State party of the convention which is a party to the
dispute shall be deemed to have accepted arbitration
in accordance with Annex VII
Procedural aspect (Art. 24-34)
Institution of proceeding
Written application
 Indicates the party which bring the claim and the adversary of
the party.
 Specifies legal ground upon which the jurisdiction of the
ITLOS is based and nature of the claim with the facts.
Procedural aspect (Art. 24-34)
Notification of a special agreement
 Done or brought by one of the state parties
 Accompanied by an original or certified copy of the special
agreement
 Indicates precise subject of dispute and identities to the
dispute
Both modes require the parties to state the name of its
agent with an address
Procedural aspect (Art. 24-34)
The registrar keeps all the state parties informed
including the UN.
Respondent shall, upon receiving the certified copy of
the application or notification, shall inform the ITLOS
of the name of its agent.
If the parties agree to the same procedure, only that
procedure would apply to them
If not, the dispute shall be submitted only to
arbitration under Annex VII of the UNCLOS
Procedural aspect (Art. 24-34)
Seabed dispute chamber shall have the power to
prescribe additional provisional measures
If there is no session or no sufficient number of
members, the provisional measures shall be
prescribed by the chamber of summary procedure.
Procedural aspect (Art. 24-34)
Hearing
Under the control of the President.
 If VP is also unable to preside, Senior Judge shall preside
Public unless otherwise agreed by the parties or decided
by the Tribunal
Default
None appearance or failure to defend, the other party
may request the Tribunal to Continue and decide.
Does not constitute a bar to the proceedings
Procedural aspect (Art. 24-34)
Questions are to be decided by a majority of the
members who are present
If equally voted, the President or presiding President
shall cast a vote.
Judgment shall state reasons and shall contains the
names of the members who took part in the decision.
Members are entitled to a separate opinion
Procedural aspect (Art. 24-34)
If a State party’s interest is affected by such decision,
he shall have the right to intervene
Tribunal decides his request
If granted, the decision of the ITLOS shall be binding
upon all intervening State Parties.
Decision is Final and shall be complied with by all
Parties
No Binding force except between the parties on a
particular dispute
The Philippines and China, Current Status in
the ITLOS
President of the tribunal
Thomas Mensah(Ghana)
Other Judges
Judge Rüdiger Wolfrum (Germany)
 Judge Stanislaw Pawlak (Poland)
Judge Jean-Pierre Cot (France)
Judge Alfred Soons (The Netherlands)