LEGAL POSITION OF LOS TRIBUNAL REGARDING MIXED DISPUTES

Abstract

The article contains an analysis of the jurisdiction of the maritime tribunals over the three mixed disputes, related to issues of sovereignty over land. State sovereignty is a very delicate issue, related to territorial sovereignty; therefore, it is inappropriate to consider the state’s statement on the abolition of certain dispute settlement procedures in accordance with article 298 as more significant issues of territorial sovereignty. The awards on an Arbitration before an arbitral tribunal, constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea between the Republic of Mauritius and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and An Arbitration before an arbitral tribunal, constituted under Annex VII to the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea between the Republic of the Philippines and the People's Republic of China, illustrate the position of LOS tribunals regarding mixed disputes, which connected to terrestrial sovereignty issue. According to a decision analysis, concerning the jurisdiction of mixed disputes, related to sovereignty over land, the LOS tribunal considers the need for a preliminary decision on sovereignty over land, the intention of the plaintiff and the consequences of resolving the claim for a sovereignty dispute are taken into account. However, the tradition is not stable so the modification of criteria in future decisions is possible. Therefore, LOS tribunals have developed an approach to determining jurisdiction over mixed disputes that relate to land, but this will be further developed and detailed in the future.