Dispute Settlement in the Law of the Sea: Survey for 2024

Abstract

This is the latest in a series of annual surveys in this Journal reviewing dispute settlement in the law of the sea, both under Part XV of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) and outside the framework of the Convention. The most significant development during 2024 was the delivery of an advisory opinion by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in which it spelt out States’ obligations under the LOSC relating to climate change. Other developments included the initiation of proceedings in two new cases, one before the ITLOS between Luxembourg and Mexico regarding the detention of a vessel of the former by the latter, the other an arbitration outside the framework of the LOSC between the European Union and the United Kingdom concerning the conservation and management of sandeels. In the former case, the ITLOS made an order or provisional measures during the year.