The Tribunal

Timeline

1 October 1996
1 October 1996

The Judges convene in Hamburg for their first meeting

5 October 1996
5 October 1996

Election of Judge Thomas Mensah (Ghana) as President and Judge Rüdiger Wolfrum (Germany) as Vice-President of the Tribunal

18 October 1996
18 October 1996

Ceremonial inauguration of the Tribunal in the presence of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who thereafter lays the foundation stone for the new premises

21 October 1996
21 October 1996

Election of the first Registrar, Mr Gritakumar Chitty (Sri Lanka) and, on 25 October 1996, the Deputy Registrar, Mr Philippe Gautier (Belgium)

17 December 1996
17 December 1996

The Tribunal is granted observer status at the United Nations General Assembly

3 March 1997
3 March 1997

Establishment of the Seabed Disputes Chamber, the Chamber for Fisheries Disputes and the Chamber for Marine Environment Disputes

1 July 1997
1 July 1997

Establishment of the internship programme

23 May 1997
23 May 1997

Adoption of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea by the States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

4 December 1997
4 December 1997
11 March 1998
11 March 1998
1 October 1999
1 October 1999

Election of Judge P. Chandrasekhara Rao (India) as President and, on 4 October 1999, Judge L. Dolliver M. Nelson (Grenada) as Vice-President of the Tribunal

7 February 2000
3 July 2000
3 July 2000

Official opening of the new premises of the Tribunal in the presence of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan

18 December 2000
20 April 2001
21 September 2001
21 September 2001

Election of Mr Philippe Gautier (Belgium) as Registrar

13 February 2002
13 February 2002

Election of Mr Doo-young Kim (Republic of Korea) as Deputy Registrar

1 October 2002
1 October 2002

Election of Judge L. Dolliver M. Nelson (Grenada) as President and, on 2 October 2002, Judge Budislav Vukas (Croatia) as Vice-President of the Tribunal

23 December 2002
10 December 2003
10 December 2003
1 October 2005
1 October 2005

Election of Judge Rüdiger Wolfrum (Germany) as President and Judge Joseph Akl (Lebanon) as Vice-President of the Tribunal

29 September 2006
29 September 2006
31 October 2006
31 October 2006

First regional workshop held in Dakar, Senegal

16 March 2007
16 March 2007

Standing special chamber created to deal with maritime delimitation disputes pursuant to article 15, paragraph 1, of the Tribunal's Statute

26 March 2007
26 March 2007

Joint ITLOS – International Oceanographic Commission workshop in Libreville, Gabon

16 April 2007
16 April 2007

Regional workshop in Kingston, Jamaica

29 May 2007
29 May 2007

Regional workshop in Singapore

29 July 2007
29 July 2007

First session of the IFLOS Summer Academy

4 February 2008
4 February 2008

Regional workshop in Manama, Bahrain

26 May 2008
26 May 2008

Regional Workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina

1 October 2008
1 October 2008

Election of Judge José Luis Jesus (Cabo Verde) as President and, on 2 October 2008, Judge Helmut Türk (Austria) as Vice-President of the Tribunal

7 October 2009
7 October 2009

Regional Workshop in Cape Town, South Africa

17 August 2010
17 August 2010

Regional Workshop in Nadi, Fiji

23 December 2010
23 December 2010
1 October 2011
1 October 2011

Election of Judge Shunji Yanai (Japan) as President and Judge Albert Hoffmann (South Africa) as Vice-President of the Tribunal

14 March 2012
5 June 2013
5 June 2013

Regional workshop in Mexico City, Mexico

14 April 2014
1 October 2014
1 October 2014

Election of Judge Vladimir Golitsyn (Russian Federation) as President and Judge Boualem Bouguetaia (Algeria) as Vice-President of the Tribunal

8 August 2014
8 August 2014

Regional workshop in Nairobi, Kenya

25 April 2015
27 August 2015
27 August 2015

Regional workshop in Bali, Indonesia

7 October 2016
7 October 2016

Celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Tribunal in the presence of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-Moon

4 November 2016
4 November 2016

Judgment in the preliminary objections phase of The M/V “Norstar” Case (Panama v. Italy)

17 March 2017
17 March 2017

Election of Ms Ximena Hinrichs Oyarce (Chile) as Deputy Registrar

5 June 2017
5 June 2017

Regional workshop in San José, Costa Rica

2 October 2017
2 October 2017

Election of Judge Jin-Hyun Paik (Republic of Korea) as President and Judge David Attard (Malta) as Vice-President of the Tribunal

2 May 2018
2 May 2018

Regional workshop in Mindelo, Cabo Verde

10 April 2019
20 September 2019
20 September 2019

Election of Ms Ximena Hinrichs Oyarce (Chile) as Registrar

13 November 2019
13 November 2019

Regional workshop in Montevideo, Uruguay

5 March 2020
5 March 2020

Joint ITLOS-International Maritime Organization symposium on flag State responsibilities and the future of article 91 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

13 March 2020
13 March 2020

Election of Mr Antoine Ollivier (France) as Deputy Registrar

1 October 2020
1 October 2020

Election of Judge Albert Hoffmann (South Africa) as President and Judge Tomas Heidar (Iceland) as Vice-President of the Tribunal

27 January 2021
27 January 2021
2 June 2022
2 June 2022

Regional workshop in Messina, Malta

12 September 2022
12 September 2022

First ITLOS Workshop for Legal Advisers (sponsored by the Republic of Korea) 

1 June 2023
1 June 2023

Regional workshop in Nice, France

2 July 2023
2 July 2023

Second ITLOS Workshop for Legal Advisers (sponsored by the Republic of Korea)

2 October 2023
2 October 2023

Election of Judge Tomas Heidar (Iceland) as President and Judge Neeru Chadha (India) as Vice-President of the Tribunal