The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and its contribution to the coherent settlement of international disputes

Abstract

This article examines the contribution of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to the development of a coherent system for the settlement of disputes under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Recalling the debates on the proliferation of international courts and the alleged risks of fragmentation, the article argues that the Tribunal has demonstrated the capacity of a specialised judicial body to generate consistent jurisprudence that preserves the 1982 Convention’s balance of interests and aligns with general principles of international law.

The analysis is structured around the main thematic areas that have shaped the Tribunal’s case law: coastal State enforcement powers in the Exclusive Economic Zone vis-à-vis foreign-flagged vessels; the allocation and assessment of the burden of proof; the rule of exhaustion of local remedies; the conditions for the right of hot pursuit and the proportional use of force; the plausibility, urgency and monitoring of provisional measures; the criteria for determining reasonable bonds or financial guarantees in prompt-release proceedings; and the obligation to avoid aggravation or expansion of the dispute. Drawing on leading cases the article identifies a stable interpretative approach that combines a strict reading of the 1982 Convention, attention to factual context, and a continuous dialogue with the case law of the International Court of Justice.

In its final reflections, the article concludes that, nearly thirty years after its establishment, the Tribunal has consolidated a high standard of efficiency, expediency and coherence in its judicial activity. Its decisions have strengthened ocean governance, clarified substantive and procedural institutions of the law of the sea, and reinforced States’ confidence in judicial dispute settlement.