Welcome
Minister of State Pieper on International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruling on Bangladesh/Myanmar case
In connection with yesterday’s ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on the Bangladesh/Myanmar case, Cornelia Pieper, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, commented today (15 March) as follows:
“Disputes over maritime boundaries can cause perennial strain in relations between neighbouring countries. With this ruling the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg has been able to help peacefully settle the boundary dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar. We see this as cause for great satisfaction. The compromise found yesterday gives both countries legal certainty. It is to be hoped that this ruling will encourage other countries involved in disputes over the law of the sea to take them to the International Tribunal for adjudication.”
In the case of Bangladesh/Myanmar the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea in Hamburg yesterday delivered its first ruling on a maritime boundary dispute. The ruling definitively regulates the delimitation of the disputed maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal and defines the breadth of the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. Also for other cases the ruling sets standards for the settlement of disputes relating to the law of the sea.
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is the only international court headquartered in Germany. All countries can have disputes over the interpretation and application of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea adjudicated by the Tribunal.
