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8 Rev. Eur. Comp. & Int'l Envtl. L. 1 (1999)

handle is hein.journals/reel8 and id is 1 raw text is: 


Volume 8 Issue 1 1999ThLoofteSariul


   Introduction

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (the
Tribunal) is one of the judicial bodies designated by the
1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS  or the Convention') to serve as 'compulsory
procedures entailing binding decisions' in disputes con-
cerning the interpretation or application of the Conven-
tion. As such, it has an important role in the implemen-
tation of the Convention's provisions dealing with the
protection and preservation of the marine environment.
In particular, the Tribunal acts as a judicial body in dis-
putes regarding the interpretation and application of the
provisions relating to the prevention, control and
reduction of pollution of the marine environment from
all the sources identified in the Convention.2

According to Article 297 of UNCLOS, one of the cases
which may be submitted to the Tribunal by a Party to
the Convention against another Party is when 'it is
alleged that a coastal State has acted in contravention
of specified international rules and standards for the
protection or preservation of the marine environment
which are applicable to the coastal State and which have
been established by this Convention or through a com-
petent international organization or diplomatic confer-
ence in accordance with this Convention'.3 An environ-
mental dispute may also arise before the Tribunal where
it is alleged that a coastal state has contravened the Con-
vention by taking measures for the protection or preser-
vation of the marine environment which violate the
rights accorded to the complaining state by the Conven-
tion.4 Finally, a dispute could also arise if the coastal
state complains that another Party to the Convention


has acted in contravention of the Convention or 'of laws
or regulations adopted by the coastal State in conformity
with this Convention or other rules of international law
not incompatible with this Convention'.'

It is pertinent to note that the jurisdiction of the Tribunal
in these cases is not subject to the limitations on juris-
diction specified in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 297 or
the optional exceptions to jurisdiction available to Par-
ties to the Convention under Article 298. Thus, where
the Parties involved in the particular dispute have
accepted the jurisdiction of the Tribunal in the manner
provided for in Article 287 of the Convention, the Tri-
bunal has unlimited competence to deal with such dis-
putes and to decide on the interpretation or application
of the provisions of the Convention which are claimed
to have been contravened.

The provisions in UNCLOS on the protection and preser-
vation of the marine environment are not just those art-
icles found in Part XII of the Convention. They also
include the provisions in other Parts and Annexes of the
Convention which relate to activities of states and other
actors that can cause pollution of the marine environ-
ment. Among these are the articles in Parts II to IX con-
cerning the powers and rights of coastal states to take
measures for the prevention of pollution of the marine
environment as well as the limits on those rights and
powers. Also of relevance are the provisions in Parts XI
relating to activities in the Area (i.e. the seabed and
ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of
national jurisdiction) and those in Part XIII concerning
the conduct of marine scientific research. Disputes con-
cerning the interpretation or application of any of these


@ Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1999, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1F, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.


1


         The International


Tribunal for the Law of


          the Sea and the


            Protection and


     Preservation of the


     Marine Environment



                  Thomas A. Mensah


The Law of the Sea Tribunal

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