International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Tribunal international du droit de la mer (French)
Official logo of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Official logo
LocationGermany Hamburg, Germany
Working languages
Judges from21 nations
Leaders
• President
Iceland Judge Tomas Heidar
• Vice President
India Judge Neeru Chadha
Establishment
• UNCLOS adopted
10 December 1982
• UNCLOS in force
16 November 1994
Website
https://www.itlos.org/
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.[1] Although the Tribunal was established by a United Nations convention, it is not an "organ" of the United Nations. 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.[2]

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 States plus the European Union.[3] As of December 2022, holdouts included the United States[4] and Iran.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference best was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: Relationship with the United Nations". ITLOS. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  3. ^ "United Nations Treaty Collection". treaties.un.org. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference hf was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference tw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).