The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: Activities in 2004

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (hereinafter “the Tribunal”) is an international court established by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter “the Convention”). The Tribunal has its seat in Hamburg (Germany) and is composed of 21 judges, elected for a nine-year term by the Meeting of States Parties to the Convention. This paper gives an overview of the activities of the Tribunal in 2004 with respect to both organizational and judicial matters. It addresses the following matters: As an international court, the Tribunal needs to exercise its judicial functions in an independent manner. Its administrative functioning is, however, subject to the control of the States Parties to the Convention. The legal basis for the role of the Meeting of States Parties regarding the administration of the Tribunal may be...