Category: International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

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International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) Oil and gas

ITLOS Special Chamber Prescribes Provisional Measures with Respect to Oil and Gas Activities in Disputed Area in Case Involving Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire

By: Nigel Bankes

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Decision commented on: International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), Special Chamber, Dispute Concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean, Order with respect to the prescription of provisional measures, April 25, 2015, ITLOS Case No. 23

By way of a Special Agreement concluded on 3 December 2014, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire submitted a dispute concerning their maritime boundary to a Special Chamber (SC) of ITLOS. The SC was fully constituted on 12 January 2015 and on 27 February 2015 Côte d’Ivoire made a request for the prescription of provisional measures under Article 290(1) of the Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) requiring Ghana to:

  1. take all steps to suspend all ongoing oil exploration and exploitation operations in the disputed area;
  2. refrain from granting any new permit for oil exploration and exploitation in the disputed area;
  3. take all steps necessary to prevent information resulting from past, ongoing or future exploration activities conducted by Ghana, or with its authorization, in the disputed area from being used in any way whatsoever to the detriment of Côte d’Ivoire;
  4. and, generally, take all necessary steps to preserve the continental shelf, its superjacent waters and its subsoil; and
  5. desist and refrain from any unilateral action entailing a risk of prejudice to the rights of Côte d’Ivoire and any unilateral action that might lead to aggravating the dispute.
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Fisheries International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

ITLOS issues its Advisory Opinion on IUU Fishing

By: Eva Romée van der Marel

PDF Version: ITLOS issues its Advisory Opinion on IUU Fishing

Decision commented on: International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Case No. 21 (Request for an advisory opinion submitted by the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC)

Introduction and context

On the 27 March 2013, the Permanent Secretary of the SRFC seized the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (‘the Tribunal’), pursuant to Art. 138 of the Rules of the Tribunal, with a request for an Advisory Opinion (‘AO’) on the following four questions: 

  1. What are the obligations of the flag State in cases where IUU [Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated] fishing activities are conducted within the EEZ of third party States?
  2. To what extent shall the flag State be held liable for IUU fishing activities conducted by vessels sailing under its flag?
  3. Where a fishing license is issued to a vessel within the framework of an international agreement with the flag State or with an international agency, shall the State or international agency be held liable for the violation of the fisheries legislation of the coastal State by the vessel in question?
  4. What are the rights and obligations of the coastal State in ensuring the sustainable management of shared stocks and stocks of common interest, especially the small pelagic specis and tuna?
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International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

The Arctic Sunrise Incident and the International Law of the Sea

By: Alex Oude Elferink

PDF Version: The Arctic Sunrise Incident and the International Law of the Sea

Decision commented on: The “Arctic Sunrise” Case (Kingdom of the Netherlands v Russian Federation, Request for the prescription of provisional measures, Order of 22 November 2013.

The Arctic in recent years has been the scene of increased efforts to exploit offshore oil and gas resources. All Arctic coastal states – Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Norway, the Russian Federation and the United States have been granting oil companies licenses to operate in their Arctic waters. The risk oil spill incidents pose to the fragile Arctic ecosystem has led to strong opposition to these activities from environmentalists. For instance, both the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Greenpeace International have called for a moratorium on offshore activities. Greenpeace International in this connection has been targeting the activities of oil companies in Arctic waters. On 18 September 2013, during one of these actions involving the vessel Arctic Sunrise Greenpeace activists tried to access the Prirazlomnaya oil rig, which was operating within the Russian Federation‟s exclusive economic zone in the Pechora Sea between the Russian mainland and Novaya Zemlya. The following day the Russian authorities boarded and arrested the Arctic Sunrise vessel and detained its crew. The vessel and crew were subsequently transferred to the Russian port of Murmansk and the crew was charged with various offenses.

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