Calendar of Events

It is with great sadness that the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea announces the passing of Judge Alonso Gómez-Robledo Verduzco (Mexico) on 16 July 2026.

At a public sitting held today, the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the Tribunal delivered its Orders on provisional measures in Case 34 and Case 35. The Orders were read by Judge Attard, President of the Chamber.

The President of the Special Chamber, having ascertained the views of the Parties, fixes the following time limits for the filing of the Memorial and Counter-Memorial : 6 January 2027 for the Memorial of Ghana; 6 July 2027 for the Counter-Memorial of Togo.

The public hearing concluded on 3 July 2026. The Seabed Disputes Chamber will now deliberate on the case. The date for the reading of the Order is tentatively set to Saturday 18 July 2026, at 3 p.m.

Seven Members of the Tribunal were elected on 18 June 2026 at the thirty-sixth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, currently ongoing at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Judge Tomas Heidar, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, addressed the thirty-sixth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on 15 June 2026, presenting the Tribunal’s annual report for 2025 and informing delegates about the judicial work, organizational matters and capacity-building activities of the Tribunal since the last Meeting.

By Order of today’s date, the Tribunal has formed a Special Chamber to deal with a dispute concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Ghana and Togo in the Gulf of Guinea.

At a public sitting held today, the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea formed to deal with The M/T “Heroic Idun” (No. 2) Case (Marshall Islands/Equatorial Guinea) delivered its Judgment. The Judgment was read by Judge Hoffmann, President of the Special Chamber.

Judge Tomas Heidar, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, received the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iceland, Ms Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, at the Tribunal today. Minister Gunnarsdóttir met with Judge Heidar in the President’s chambers, where she also signed the visitors book.

Judge Tomas Heidar, President of the Tribunal, welcomed Ms Leticia Reis de Carvalho, Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, along with Ms Mariana Durney, Legal Counsel, to the Tribunal today.

On 16 March 2026, by Order of the President of the Tribunal, Judge Tomas Heidar, The “Zheng He” Case (Luxembourg v. Mexico) was removed from the Tribunal’s List of cases.

We welcome applications for the 2026-2027 ITLOS-Nippon Foundation Capacity-Building and Training Programme on Dispute Settlement under UNCLOS until 6 March 2026.

On 6 February 2026, the President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Judge Tomas Heidar, appointed Mr Nguyen Hong Thao (Viet Nam) as arbitrator in the arbitral proceedings instituted by Ukraine against the Russian Federation under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (PCA Case No. 2019-28, Dispute Concerning the Detention of Ukrainian Naval Vessels and Servicemen (Ukraine v. the Russian Federation)).

The President, taking into account the agreement of the Parties, extends the time limit for the filing of the Counter-Memorial of Mexico to 16 March 2026.