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SECTION II

Application of Section I and Proceedings Under Section II

Article 7

Any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of the present Convention which has not been excluded under articles 17 and 18 shall, where no settlement has been reached by recourse to the provisions of Section I, be submitted, at the request of any party to the dispute, to the court or tribunal having jurisdiction under the provisions of Section II.

Procedures in Other Parts
Article 8

1. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Part and unless the parties otherwise agree, Section II shall not apply to the settlement of any specific category of disputes for which another Part of the present Convention provides a procedure which may be initiated by any party to the dispute and entails a binding decision.

2. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Part and unless the parties otherwise agree, Section II shall apply to the settlement of a specific category of disputes for which another Part of the present Convention provides a non-binding procedure, provided that:

(a) Such procedure has been concluded;

(b) No settlement has been reached; and

(c) The relevant Part provides that the dispute shall be resolved by the procedure set forth in this Part.

Choice of Procedure
Article 9

1. A Contracting Party, when ratifying or otherwise expressing its consent to be bound by the present Convention, or at any time thereafter, shall be free to choose, by means of a declaration, one or more of the following procedures for the settlement of disputes relating to the interpretation or application of the present Convention:

(a) The Law of the Sea Tribunal;

(b) The International Court of Justice;

(c) Arbitration in accordance with Annex III;

(d) The special arbitration procedure in accordance with Annex IV, for one or more of the categories of disputes specified therein.

2. If a Contracting Party makes a declaration accepting the special arbitration procedure for any of the categories of disputes specified in Annex IV, it shall include the acceptance of one or more of the other procedures specified in paragraph 1, for the settlement of disputes to which the accepted special arbitration procedure is not applicable.

3. If a Contracting Party has not made a declaration under the preceding paragraphs, or if upon the expiration of such a declaration as a result of revocation no new declaration has been made, it shall be deemed to have accepted arbitration in accordance with Annex III.

4. If the parties to a dispute have accepted or are deemed to have accepted the same procedure for the settlement of such dispute, it may only be submitted to that procedure, unless the parties otherwise agree.

5. If the parties to a dispute have not accepted or are not deemed to have accepted the same procedure, the party initiating proceedings may submit the dispute either to one of the procedures chosen by the other party, or to arbitration in accordance with Annex III, unless the parties otherwise agree.

6. The declarations referred to in this article shall be deposited with the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, who shall transmit copies thereof to the Contracting Parties.

7. Any declaration made under this article shall remain in force until three months after notice of revocation has been deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall transmit copies thereof to the Contracting Parties.

8. When a dispute has been submitted to a court or tribunal having jurisdiction under this article, a new declaration, or the revocation or expiration of a declaration, shall not affect in any way the proceedings so pending, unless the parties otherwise

agree.

Competence
Article 10

1. Any court or tribunal provided for in article 9 shall have jurisdiction in any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of the present Convention which is submitted to it in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

2. Any court or tribunal provided for in article 9 shall have jurisdiction in any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of an international agreement related to the purposes of the present Convention, which is submitted to it in accordance with the provisions of such agreement.

3. In the event of disagreement between the parties to a dispute as to whether the court or tribunal to which such dispute has been submitted has jurisdiction, the matter shall be settled by the decision of that court or tribunal. Such a decision shall be taken in strict accordance with the provisions of article 9 or the international agreement in accordance with which the dispute was submitted, as the case may be. Expert Advice and Assistance

Article 11

In any dispute involving scientific or technical matters which has been submitted to the Law of the Sea Tribunal, International Court of Justice, or an arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex III. the court or tribunal in question may, in exercising jurisdiction under this Section, at the request of a party to the dispute or on its own initiative, and in consultation with the parties, select not less than two and not more than four scientific or technical experts from the appropriate list prepared in accordance with article 2 of Annex IV, who shall sit with such court or tribunal throughout all the stages of the proceedings, but without the right to vote.

Provisional Measures
Article 12

1. Any court or tribunal to which a dispute has been submitted under this Section shall have the power to prescribe such provisional measures as it considers appropriate under the circumstances to preserve the respective rights of the parties to the dispute or to prevent serious harm to the marine environment, pending final adjudication.

2. Any provisional measures under this article may only be prescribed, modified or revoked upon the request of a party to the dispute and after giving the parties an opportunity to be heard. Notice of any provisional measures shall be given forthwith by the court or tribunal to the parties to the dispute and to such other Contracting Parties as it considers appropriate.

3. If a dispute has been submitted under this Section to a tribunal which has not been constituted, any court or tribunal agreed upon by the parties or, failing such agreement within two weeks, the Law of the Sea Tribunal, shall have the power to prescribe provisional measures in conformity with paragraphs 1 and 2, if it considers that the urgency of the situation so requires. As soon as it has been constituted, the tribunal to which the dispute has been submitted, may affirm, modify or revoke such provisional measures, acting in conformity with paragraphs 1 and 2.

4. As soon as the circumstances justifying the provisional measures have changed or ceased to exist, such provisional measures may be modified or revoked by the tribunal to which the dispute has been submitted, or where such tribunal has not been constituted, by the court or tribunal which prescribed the provisional measures under paragraph 3.

5. Any provisional measures prescribed or modified under this article shall be promptly complied with by the parties to the dispute.

Access
Article 13

1. All the dispute settlement procedures specified in the present Convention shall be open to the Contracting Parties.

2. Any dispute settlement procedure specified in the present Convention shall be open to entities other than Contracting Parties whenever the provisions of the present Convention so permit.

Prompt Release of Vessels
Article 14

1. Where the authorities of a Contracting Party have detained a vessel flying the flag of another Contracting Party and have failed to comply with the relevant

provisions of the present Convention for the prompt release of the vessel or its crew upon the posting of a reasonable bond or other security, the question of release from detention may be brought before the Law of the Sea Tribunal, or any other court or tribunal which the parties have accepted in accordance with article 9 for the settlement of disputes relating to navigation, unless the parties otherwise agree. 2. An application for such release may be brought by the flag State of the vessel, or on its behalf by either a diplomatic or consular officer.

3. The question of release shall be dealt with promptly by such court or tribunal, and shall be limited to the question of release only, without prejudice to the merits of any case against the vessel, its owner or its crew before the appropriate domestic forum.

4. The decision of such court or tribunal that the vessel or its crew be released shall be promptly complied with upon the posting of the bond or other security ordered by the court or tribunal.

Applicable Law
Article 15

1. The court or tribunal having jurisdiction under this Section shall apply the present Convention and other rules of international law not incompatible with the present Convention.

2. If the parties to a dispute so agree, the court or tribunal having jurisdiction under this Section shall make its decision ex aequo et bono.

Finality and Binding Force of Decisions

Article 16

1. Any decision rendered, measure prescribed or settlement effected by a court or tribunal having jurisdiction under this Section shall be final and shall be complied with by all the parties to the dispute.

2. Any such decision, measure or settlement shall have no binding force except between the parties and in respect of that particular dispute.

Limitations on Applicability of Section II

Article 17

1. Disputes relating to the exercise by a coastal State of sovereign rights, exclusive rights or exclusive jurisdiction recognized by the present Convention shall be subject to the procedures specified in Section II only in the following cases:

(a) When it is claimed that a coastal State has acted in contravention of the provisions of the present Convention in regard to the freedom of navigation or overflight or of the laying of submarine cables and pipelines and other internationally lawful uses of the sea related to navigation or communication; or

(b) When it is claimed that any State in exercising the aforementioned freedoms has acted in contravention of the provisions of the present Convention or of laws or regulations enacted by the coastal State in conformity with the present Convention and other rules of international law not incompatible with the present Convention; or (c) When it is claimed that a coastal State has acted in contravention of specified international standards or criteria for the preservation of the marine environment or for the conduct of marine scientific research, which are applicable to the coastal State and which have been established by the present Convention or by a competent international authority acting in accordance with the present Convention; or

(d) When it is claimed that a coastal State has manifestly failed to comply with specified conditions established by the present Convention relating to the exercise of its rights or performance of its duties in respect of living resources, provided that in no case shall the sovereign rights of the coastal State be called in question.

2. Any dispute excluded by paragraph 1 may be submitted to the procedure specified in Section II only with the express consent of the coastal State concerned. 3. Any disagreement between the parties to a dispute as to the applicability of this article shall be decided in accordance with paragraph 3 of article 10.

Optional Exceptions
Article 18

1. A Contracting Party when ratifying or otherwise expressing its consent to be bound by the present Convention, or at any time thereafter, may declare that it does not accept any one or more of the procedures for the settlement of disputes specified in Section II with respect to one or more of the following categories of disputes:

(a) Disputes concerning sea boundary delimitations between adjacent or opposite States, or those involving historic bays or titles, provided that the State making such a declaration shall indicate therein a regional or other third party procedure. entailing a binding decision, which it accepts for the settlement of such disputes (b) Disputes concerning military activities, including those by government vessels and aircraft engaged in non-commercial service, provided that law enforcement activities pursuant to the present Convention shall not be considered military activities;

(c) Disputes in respect of which the Security Council of the United Nations, while exercising the functions assigned to it by the Charter of the United Nations. determines that specified proceedings under the present Convention interfere with the exercise of such functions in a particular case.

2. Any disagreement between the parties to a dispute as to the applicability of this article shall be decided in accordance with paragraph 3 of article 10.

3. A Contracting Party which has made a declaration under paragraph 1 may at any time withdraw it, or agree to submit a dispute excluded by such declaration to a procedure specified in Section II.

4. Any Contracting Party which has made a declaration under paragraph I shall not be entitled to submit any dispute falling within the excepted category to any procedure in Section II as against any other Contracting Party, without the consent of that party.

5. If one of the Contracting Parties has made a declaration under subparagraph 1 (a) of this article, any other Contracting Party may submit any excepted category of dispute against the declarant party to the procedure specified in such declaration. In the Revised Single Negotiating Text, four annexes follow:

ANNEX I. Conciliation

ANNEX II. Statute of the Law of the Sea Tribunal

ANNEX III. Arbitration

ANNEX IV. Special Arbitration Procedure

For the text of those annexes, see U.N. Doc. A/CONF. 62/WP. 9/Rev. 2, pp. 16-36.

Eastern Mediterranean

In a letter to Secretary of State Kissinger dated April 7, 1976. Greek Foreign Minister Dimitri S. Bitsios inquired about the U.S. attitude toward the resolution of disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly in the Aegean area, and questioned the contribution of the U.S.-Turkish defense agreement of March 26, 1976 (see post, p. 775), to a solution of the Cyprus question. Secretary Kissinger, in a letter of April 10, 1976, replied, in relevant part, as follows:

. . . I should like to reiterate our conviction that these disputes must be settled through peaceful procedures and that each side should avoid provocative actions. We have previously stated our belief that neither side should seek a military solution to these disputes. This remains United States policy. Therefore the United States would actively and unequivocally oppose either side's seeking a military solution and will make a major effort to prevent such a course of action.

I should like to re-emphasize, with regard to Cyprus, that the United States remains fully committed to the objective of an early and just settlement of this issue. . . . [T]he present dividing lines in Cyprus cannot be permanent. There must be just territorial arrangements. We intend to contribute actively in the search for a

solution to the Cyprus problem that will preserve the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus.

For the exchange of letters of Apr. 7 and 10, 1976, see Dept. of State Bulletin, Vol. LXXIV, No. 1925, May 17, 1976, p. 630.

Coffee Agreement, 1976

The International Coffee Agreement, which entered into force provisionally on October 1, 1976, for 41 exporting and 20 importing members, including the United States, contains a chapter devoted to methods of consultation for any matter relating to the agreement and for the handling of any disputes concerning its interpretation or application, as well as complaints concerning nonfulfillment of obligations.

The text of that chapter is set out below:

CHAPTER IX - CONSULTATIONS,
DISPUTES AND COMPLAINTS

Article 57
Consultations

Each Member shall accord sympathetic consideration to, and shall afford adequate opportunity for, consultation regarding such representations as may be made by another Member with respect to any matter relating to this Agreement. In the course of such consultation, on request by either party and with the consent of the other, the Executive Director shall establish an independent panel which shall use its good offices with a view to conciliating the parties. The costs of the panel shall not be chargeable to the Organization. If a party does not agree to the establishment of a panel by the Executive Director, or if the consultation does not lead to a solution, the matter may be referred to the Council in accordance with the provisions of Article 58. If the consultation does lead to a solution, it shall be reported to the Executive Director who shall distribute the report to all Members.

Article 58

Disputes and Complaints

(1) Any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement which is not settled by negotiation shall, at the request of any Member party to the dispute, be referred to the Council for decision.

(2) In any case where a dispute has been referred to the Council under the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article, a majority of Members, or Members holding not less than one-third of the total votes, may require the Council, after discussion, to seek the opinion of the advisory panel referred to in paragraph (3) of this Article on the issues in dispute before giving its decision.

(3)

(a) Unless the Council unanimously agrees otherwise, the panel shall consist of: (i) two persons, one having wide experience in matters of the kind in dispute and the other having legal standing and experience, nominated by the exporting Members;

(ii) two such persons nominated by the importing Members; and

(iii) a chairman selected unanimously by the four persons nominated under (i) and (ii) or, if they fail to agree, by the Chairman of the Council.

(b) Persons from countries whose Governments are Contracting Parties to this Agreement shall be eligible to serve on the advisory panel.

(c) Persons appointed to the advisory panel shall act in their personal capacities and without instructions from any Government.

(d) The expenses of the advisory panel shall be paid by the Organization.

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