There are currently 155 States Parties to the Convention. This includes 154 States and one international organization (European Community). A full list of States Parties may be found on the internet pages of the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea was established as a specialised Tribunal to deal with disputes arising out of the interpretation and application of the Convention.

The Convention was adopted by the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea on 30 April 1982 and opened for signature on 10 December 1982. It entered into force on 16 November 1994.

The Tribunal is an independent judicial body that maintains close links with the United Nations. The Tribunal and the United Nations have entered into agreement concerning cooperation and relationship. The United Nations has granted the Tribunal observer status in the General Assembly. In addition the staff of the Tribunal are remunerated in accordance with the United Nations common system of salaries, allowances and benefits, as administered by the International Civil Service Commission. The Tribunal participates in the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund.

Hamburg was chosen to be the seat of the Tribunal by the representatives of the States participating in the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea by secret ballot on 21 August 1981. The choice of Hamburg, a well-known port city reputed for its long tradition in international shipping and maritime trade, is reflected in article 1, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the Tribunal.

The headquarters building was funded by the Federal Government of Germany (80%) and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (20%) and made available to the Tribunal rent-free. The maintenance costs for the running of the building are covered by the budget of the Tribunal.

The budget of the Tribunal has been set at EUR 17,214,700 for 2007-2008.

The building was designed by Baron Alexander and Baroness Emanuela von Branca, a Munich-based firm of architects, who won first prize in an international competition organised in 1989.

The two official languages of the Tribunal are English and French. Other languages may be used by parties during proceedings, in which case the party concerned is requested to make the necessary arrangements for interpretation and/or translation into one of the official languages.

The budget of the Tribunal is adopted annually by the Meeting of States Parties to the Convention, on the basis of budget proposals submitted by the Tribunal. The Meeting of States Parties is convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and takes place at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The States Parties pay contributions to the budget based upon the scale of assessments of the budget of the United Nations adjusted to take into account participation in the Convention. The European Community pays a fixed contribution set by the Meeting of States Parties.

The Tribunal came into existence following the entry into force of the Convention on 16 November 1994. After the election of the first judges on 1 August 1996, the Tribunal took up its work in Hamburg on 1 October 1996. The official inauguration of the Tribunal was held on 18 October 1996.

As provided for by its Statute, the Tribunal has constituted the Seabed Disputes Chamber and the Chamber of Summary Procedure. Two other chambers have been formed by the Tribunal, the Chamber for Fisheries Disputes and the Chamber for Marine Environment Disputes. In addition a special chamber has been formed to deal with the Case concerning the Conservation and Sustainable Exploitation of Swordfish Stocks in the South-Eastern Pacific Ocean (Chile/European Community).

Article 2 of the Statute of the Tribunal sets down that it "shall be composed of a body of 21 independent members, elected from among persons enjoying the highest reputation for fairness and integrity and of recognized competence in the field of the law of the sea."

The judges are elected for a term of nine years.

The judges elect the President and Vice-President from among themselves by secret ballot for three years.

A party to a case that does not have a judge of its own nationality on the bench may nominate a person to sit as a judge during the case. The judge ad hoc participates in that case on an equal basis with the other judges.

Only the President of the Tribunal is permanently based in Hamburg. The other judges must be permanently available to exercise their functions and travel to Hamburg for cases and organizational sessions.

The Tribunal may not include more than one judge of the same nationality on its bench and the representation of the principal legal systems of the world and geographical distribution shall be assured. The geographical distribution of the seats, as decided by the Meeting of States Parties in 1996, is as follows:

Africa: 5
Asia: 5
Eastern Europe: 3
Latin America and the Caribbean: 4
Western Europe and other States: 4

There are 21 judges.

The judges of the Tribunal are elected by the States Parties. Elections for the position of one-third of the judges of the Tribunal are held at the Meeting of States Parties every three years in New York. Candidates must be nominated by States Parties and require a two-thirds majority of the votes of the States Parties present and voting in order to be elected.

The Registrar is responsible for all legal and administrative work, for the assessment and collection of contributions, and for the administration of the accounts and finances of the Tribunal. The Registrar is the regular channel of communications to and from the Tribunal, keeps the List of cases, and keeps copies of communications and agreements as required by the Rules.

There are currently 37 members of staff.

The Tribunal endeavours to maintain as wide a geographical distribution as possible in its selection of staff. There are currently 19 different nationalities represented at the Tribunal.

The Registry is the administrative organ of the Tribunal. Headed by the Registrar, it consists of a number of different departments: Legal, Administration and Finance, Electronic Data Processing, Press, Conference and Linguistic Services and Library.

The Tribunal applies the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and other rules of international law not incompatible with the Convention.

Yes. Witnesses can be presented during hearings.

The Tribunal is also open to entities other than States Parties to the Convention in any case expressly provided for in Part XI of the Convention or in any case submitted pursuant to any other agreement conferring jurisdiction on the Tribunal which is accepted by all the parties to that case. In Part XI provision is made, for example, for private companies or individuals to bring cases to the Seabed Disputes Chamber in connection with activities in the Area.

The hearings are public unless the Tribunal decides otherwise or the parties to the case request that the public not be admitted. People wishing to attend the hearings should register with the Press Department in advance to ensure entry.

Article 292 of the Convention deals with cases relating to the prompt release of vessels and crews from detention, in certain cases when it is alleged that the detaining State has not complied with the provisions of the Convention for the prompt release of vessels and crews upon the posting of a reasonable bond or other financial security. Under its Rules, the Tribunal is required to deliver its judgments in such cases within 30 days of the date upon which the application is filed with the Tribunal.

The decisions of the Tribunal are final and binding and the parties to the dispute are required to comply with them. However, the Tribunal has no means of enforcing its decisions.

No. The decisions of the Tribunal are final. However, the Rules of the Tribunal make provision regarding requests for the interpretation or revision of a judgment.

Yes. If the Tribunal decides that it requires expert advice on a case involving technical or scientific matters it may select an expert under article 289 of the Convention, to be chosen in consultation with the parties and preferably from the list of experts maintained in accordance with article 2 of Annex VIII to the Convention.

The parties to a dispute are required to comply promptly with any provisional measures prescribed by the Tribunal either under article 290, paragraph 1, of the Convention or under article 290, paragraph 5, of the Convention.

Fifteen cases have been submitted to the Tribunal to date.

Generally speaking, all parties to a case have to accept the jurisdiction of the Tribunal before the case is dealt with by the Tribunal. The jurisdiction may be accepted either before the dispute arises or thereafter.

Expenses of the Tribunal, including expenses incurred on account of cases submitted to it, are borne by the States Parties to the Convention through the budget of the Tribunal. States Parties are therefore not required to pay the Tribunal any additional amount if they are parties to cases before the Tribunal. Non-States Parties would be required to pay a fee fixed by the Tribunal.

No. The Tribunal is one means for the settlement of disputes arising out of the Convention, the other means being the International Court of Justice, an arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VII to the Convention, and a special arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VIII to the Convention. The United Nations General Assembly has recognized the contribution of the Tribunal to the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with Part XV of the Convention and has underlined the Tribunal's important role and authority concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention.

The List of cases is a list of all the cases that have been submitted to the Tribunal.

Any case arising out of the application or interpretation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea may be brought to the Tribunal. In the cases submitted to the Tribunal to date the following matters have figured prominently: prompt release of vessels and crews under article 292 of the Convention, coastal State jurisdiction in its maritime zones, freedom of navigation, hot pursuit, marine environment, flags of convenience and conservation of fish stocks. The Tribunal's jurisdiction also extends to cases arising out of other agreements that confer jurisdiction on the Tribunal.

Disputes before the Tribunal are instituted either by written application or by notification of a special agreement. The procedure to be followed for the institution of proceedings before the Tribunal is defined in the Statute and the Rules of the Tribunal as well as in the Guidelines concerning the Preparation and Presentation of Cases before the Tribunal.

Yes, on 30 October 2000 the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General of the United Nations to establish and administer a voluntary trust fund to assist States, in particular developing States, in the settlement of disputes through the Tribunal. The fund was subsequently established and is operational.

Yes. Guided tours of the Tribunal can be arranged for groups of up to 30 people. Tours last approximately one-and-a-half hours and are conducted in English, French or German. Please contact the Press Department for further information.

The Tribunal has the following publications:
- Basic Texts
- Yearbooks
- Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders
- Pleadings, Minutes of Public Sittings and Documents

The website is the best place to start in order to obtain general information. In addition a brochure on the Tribunal may be obtained from the Press Department.

All vacancies are posted on the website. Questions thereto may be sent to the Personnel Department. Information about the internship programme is also available on the website or from the Press Department.