30. The Intertwining of the Will of the Parties and Compulsory Jurisdiction under the Law of the Sea Convention

Abstract

The mechanism for the settlement of disputes set out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is based on compulsory jurisdiction. A State party to the Convention, for the very fact of being a party, is entitled to set in motion a judicial or arbitral proceeding against another party for the settlement of a dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention. In view of the special characteristics of the compulsory mechanism for the settlement of disputes set out in UNCLOS, the distinction between jurisdiction established by the unilateral will of one party and by the agreement of the two parties is less clear-cut than it might appear. The practice of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea presents various situations in which the interpreter can legitimately raise the question whether a specific case is submitted to adjudication unilaterally or by agreement. Keywords: Bangladesh; compulsory jurisdiction; International tribunal; Myanmar; UNCLOS