International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

A large building with trees in front

ITLOS seen from Elbchaussee, close to the River Elbe

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. As of December 2022, 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

Judges of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

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

Former judges

Former judges of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

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

Cases

Cases of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

Name	Applicant	Respondent	Case began	Case ended	Disposition
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Guinea	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on prompt release
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Guinea	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on merits
Southern Bluefin Tuna Cases	New Zealand	Japan	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Order on provisional measures
	Australia
	Panama	France	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on prompt release
	Seychelles	France	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on prompt release
	Chile / European UnionTemplate:Efn		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Terminated at request of parties
	Belize	France	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on prompt release
	Panama	Yemen	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Terminated at request of parties
	Ireland	United Kingdom	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Order on provisional measures
	Russia	Australia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on prompt release
	Malaysia	Singapore	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Order on provisional measures
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Guinea-Bissau	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on prompt release
	Japan	Russia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on prompt release
	Japan	Russia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on prompt release
	Bangladesh / Myanmar		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on merits
Responsibilities and Obligations of States Sponsoring Persons and Entities with Respect to Activities in the Area	International Seabed Authority		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Advisory opinion
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Spain	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on merits
	Panama / Guinea-Bissau		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on merits
	Argentina	Ghana	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Order on provisional measures
Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC)	Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Advisory opinion
	Netherlands	Russia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Order on provisional measures
	Ghana / Ivory Coast		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on merits
	Italy	India	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Order on provisional measures
	Panama	Italy	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Judgment on merits
	Ukraine	Russia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Order on provisional measures
	Switzerland	Nigeria	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Order on provisional measures
	Mauritius / Maldives		Template:Dts	Ongoing
	Switzerland / Nigeria		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Terminated at request of parties
	Marshall Islands	Equatorial Guinea	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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		Template:Dts	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

External links

• Template:Official
• International Foundation for the Law of the Sea
• "Privileges and Immunities", ITLOS