Chapter 36. Article 283 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

Abstract

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), when presided over by Judge Thomas Mensah, was the first court or tribunal acting under Part XV of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Convention) to have occasion to consider article 283. The Working Group on Dispute Settlement (WG) drew up four draft articles of a general nature: they became articles 279, 280, 282 and 283. The case law has two aspects: first the question whether negotiations or some exchanges are required before litigation can be started; and secondly the interpretation of article 283. As regards the former question, in the Right of Passage case, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) considered whether there had to be negotiations before a State could have recourse to the Court. The LOS Convention has created new jurisdictional possibilities, including compulsory procedures leading to binding decisions.Keywords: article 283; International Court of Justice (ICJ); ITLOS; LOS Convention; Working Group on Dispute Settlement (WG)