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ANNEX VII. ARBITRATION
Article 1
Institution of proceedings
Subject to the provisions of Part XV, any party to a dispute may submit the
dispute to the arbitral procedure provided for in this Annex by written
notification addressed to the other party or parties to the dispute. The
notification shall be accompanied by a statement of the claim and the
grounds on which it is based.
Article 2
List of arbitrators
1. A list of arbitrators shall be drawn up and maintained by the Secretary-
General of the United Nations. Every State Party shall be entitled to
nominate four arbitrators, each of whom shall be a person experienced in
maritime affairs and enjoying the highest reputation for fairness,
competence and integrity. The names of the persons so nominated shall
constitute the list.
2. If at any time the arbitrators nominated by a State Party in the list so
constituted shall be fewer than four, that State Party shall be entitled to
make further nominations as necessary.
3. The name of an arbitrator shall remain on the list until withdrawn by
the State Party which made the nomination, provided that such arbitrator
shall continue to serve on any arbitral tribunal to which that arbitrator
has been appointed until the completion of the proceedings before that
arbitral tribunal.
Article 3
Constitution of arbitral tribunal
For the purpose of proceedings under this Annex, the arbitral tribunal
shall, unless the parties otherwise agree, be constituted as follows:
- Subject to subparagraph (g), the arbitral tribunal shall consist of
five members.
- The party instituting the proceedings shall appoint one member to be
chosen preferably from the list referred to in article 2 of this
Annex, who may be its national. The appointment shall be included in
the notification referred to in article 1 of this Annex.
- The other party to the dispute shall, within 30 days of receipt of
the notification referred to in article 1 of this Annex, appoint one
member to be chosen preferably from the list, who may be its
national. If the appointment is not made within that period, the
party instituting the proceedings may, within two weeks of the
expiration of that period, request that the appointment be made in
accordance with subparagraph (e).
- The other three members shall be appointed by agreement between the
parties. They shall be chosen preferably from the list and shall be
nationals of third States unless the parties otherwise agree. The
parties to the dispute shall appoint the President of the arbitral
tribunal from among those three members. If, within 60 days of
receipt of the notification referred to in article 1 of this Annex,
the parties are unable to reach agreement on the appointment of one
or more of the members of the tribunal to be appointed by agreement,
or on the appointment of the President, the remaining appointment or
appointments shall be made in accordance with subparagraph (e), at
the request of a party to the dispute. Such request shall be made
within two weeks of the expiration of the aforementioned 60-day
period.
- Unless the parties agree that any appointment under subparagraphs (c)
and (d) be made by a person or a third State chosen by the parties,
the President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
shall make the necessary appointments. If the President is unable to
act under this subparagraph or is a national of one of the parties to
the dispute, the appointment shall be made by the next senior member
of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea who is available
and is not a national of one of the parties. The appointments
referred to in this subparagraph shall be made from the list referred
to in article 2 of this Annex within a period of 30 days of the
receipt of the request and in consultation with the parties. The
members so appointed shall be of different nationalities and may not
be in the service of, ordinarily resident in the territory of, or
nationals of, any of the parties to the dispute.
- Any vacancy shall be filled in the manner prescribed for the initial
appointment.
- Parties in the same interest shall appoint one member of the tribunal
jointly by agreement. Where there are several parties having separate
interests or where there is disagreement as to whether they are of
the same interest, each of them shall appoint one member of the
tribunal. The number of members of the tribunal appointed separately
by the parties shall always be smaller by one than the number of
members of the tribunal to be appointed jointly by the parties.
- In disputes involving more than two parties, the provisions of
subparagraphs (a) to (f) shall apply to the maximum extent possible.
Article 4
Functions of arbitral tribunal
An arbitral tribunal constituted under article 3 of this Annex shall
function in accordance with this Annex and the other provisions of this
Convention.
Unless the parties to the dispute otherwise agree, the arbitral tribunal
shall determine its own procedure, assuring to each party a full
opportunity to be heard and to present its case.
Article 6
Duties of parties to a dispute
The parties to the dispute shall facilitate the work of the arbitral
tribunal and, in particular, in accordance with their law and using all
means at their disposal, shall:
- provide it with all relevant documents, facilities and information;
and
- enable it when necessary to call witnesses or experts and receive
their evidence and to visit the localities to which the case relates.
Unless the arbitral tribunal decides otherwise because of the particular
circumstances of the case, the expenses of the tribunal, including the
remuneration of its members, shall be borne by the parties to the dispute
in equal shares.
Article 8
Required majority for decisions
Decisions of the arbitral tribunal shall be taken by a majority vote of its
members. The absence or abstention of less than half of the members shall
not constitute a bar to the tribunal reaching a decision. In the event of
an equality of votes, the President shall have a casting vote.
Article 9
Default of appearance
If one of the parties to the dispute does not appear before the arbitral
tribunal or fails to defend its case, the other party may request the
tribunal to continue the proceedings and to make its award. Absence of a
party or failure of a party to defend its case shall not constitute a bar
to the proceedings. Before making its award, the arbitral tribunal must
satisfy itself not only that it has jurisdiction over the dispute but also
that the claim is well founded in fact and law.
The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be confined to the subject-matter
of the dispute and state the reasons on which it is based. It shall contain
the names of the members who have participated and the date of the award.
Any member of the tribunal may attach a separate or dissenting opinion to
the award.
The award shall be final and without appeal, unless the parties to the
dispute have agreed in advance to an appellate procedure. It shall be
complied with by the parties to the dispute.
Article 12
Interpretation or implementation of award
1. Any controversy which may arise between the parties to the dispute as
regards the interpretation or manner of implementation of the award may be
submitted by either party for decision to the arbitral tribunal which made
the award. For this purpose, any vacancy in the tribunal shall be filled in
the manner provided for in the original appointments of the members of the
tribunal.
2. Any such controversy may be submitted to another court or tribunal under
article 287 by agreement of all the parties to the dispute.
Article 13
Application to entities other than States Parties
The provisions of this Annex shall apply mutatis mutandis to any dispute
involving entities other than States Parties.
Previous
Convention on the Law of the Sea: Index
Parts:
I -
II -
III -
IV -
V -
VI -
VII -
VIII-IX -
X -
XI -
XII -
XIII -
XIV -
XV -
XVI -
XVII
Annexes:
I -
II -
III -
IV -
V -
VI -
VII -
VIII -
IX
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