Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly

Professor Francis D Rose

Document

A PROMPT BUT CONTROVERSIAL DECISION FOR PROMPT RELEASE

The Saiga

On 4 December 1997 the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (“ITLOS”) rendered its decision in the case of St Vincent and the Grenadines v. Guinea (The M.V. Saiga) being case No. 1. It is unusual to consider the first case decided by a particular court or tribunal, and it is unfortunate that in the case of The Saiga ITLOS has got off to a controversial start with a 12-9 majority judgment and very strong dissenting opinions. However, before considering the controversial aspects of the decision, it must be noted that ITLOS is to be commended for the admirable speed with which it acted, thus establishing itself, at least in this respect, as a credible international forum. The application was filed on 13 November 1997 and the tribunal convened but eight days later. Public hearings were opened in Hamburg on 21 November and were adjourned until 27 November. Public hearings were held on 27 and 28 November and judgment given on 4 December. The case lasted only three weeks from filing to judgment.1

1. This speed is built into the rules of the tribunal, Art. 112(3) of the Rules provides that the date for the hearing of an application for prompt release should not exceed 10 days from the receipt of the application and that the oral hearing should generally not exceed one day for each party; and Art. 112(4) provides that the judgment should be read not later than 10 days after the closure of the oral hearing.

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