United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

SUBSECTION H. SUSPENSION OF THE EXERCISE OF RIGHTS
AND PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERS

Article 184
Suspension of the exercise of voting rights

A State Party which is in arrears in the payment of its financial
contributions to the Authority shall have no vote if the amount of its
arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for
the preceding two full years. The Assembly may, nevertheless, permit such a
member to vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to
conditions beyond the control of the member.

Article 185
Suspension of exercise of rights
and privileges of membership

1. A State Party which has grossly and persistently violated the provisions
of this Part may be suspended from the exercise of the rights and
privileges of membership by the Assembly upon the recommendation of the
Council.

2. No action may be taken under paragraph 1 until the Sea-Bed Disputes
Chamber has found that a State Party has grossly and persistently violated
the provisions of this Part.

SECTION 5. Settlement of Disputes
AND ADVISORY OPINIONS

Article 186
Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber of the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

The establishment of the Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber and the manner in which
it shall exercise its jurisdiction shall be governed by the provisions of
this section, of Part XV and of Annex VI.

Article 187
Jurisdiction of the Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber

The Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber shall have jurisdiction under this Part and
the Annexes relating thereto in disputes with respect to activities in the
Area falling within the following categories:

(a) disputes between States Parties concerning the interpretation or
application of this Part and the Annexes relating thereto;
(b) disputes between a State Party and the Authority concerning:
(i) acts or omissions of the Authority or of a State Party alleged to
be in violation of this Part or the Annexes relating thereto or of
rules, regulations and procedures of the Authority adopted in
accordance therewith; or
(ii) acts of the Authority alleged to be in excess of jurisdiction or
a misuse of power;
(c) disputes between parties to a contract, being States Parties, the
Authority or the Enterprise, state enterprises and natural or
juridical persons referred to in article 153, paragraph 2 (b),
concerning:
(i) the interpretation or application of a relevant contract or a
plan of work; or
(ii) acts or omissions of a party to the contract relating to
activities in the Area and directed to the other party or directly
affecting its legitimate interests;
(d) disputes between the Authority and a prospective contractor who has
been sponsored by a State as provided in article 153, paragraph 2
(b), and has duly fulfilled the conditions referred to in Annex III,
article 4, paragraph 6, and article 13, paragraph 2, concerning the
refusal of a contract or a legal issue arising in the negotiation of
the contract;
(e) disputes between the Authority and a State Party, a state enterprise
or a natural or juridical person sponsored by a State Party as
provided for in article 153, paragraph 2(b), where it is alleged that
the Authority has incurred liability as provided in Annex III,
article 22;
(f) any other disputes for which the jurisdiction of the Chamber is
specifically provided in this Convention.

Article 188
Submission of disputes to a special chamber of the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea or an ad hoc
chamber of the Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber or to binding
commercial arbitration

1. Disputes between States Parties referred to in article 187, subparagraph
(a), may be submitted:

(a) at the request of the parties to the dispute, to a special chamber of
the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to be formed in
accordance with Annex VI, articles 15 and 17; or
(b) at the request of any party to the dispute, to an ad hoc chamber of
the Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber to be formed in accordance with Annex
VI, article 36.

2. (a) Disputes concerning the interpretation or application of a
contract referred to in article 187, subparagraph (c) (i), shall be
submitted, at the request of any party to the dispute, to binding
commercial arbitration, unless the parties otherwise agree. A
commercial arbitral tribunal to which the dispute is submitted shall
have no jurisdiction to decide any question of interpretation of this
Convention. When the dispute also involves a question of the
interpretation of Part XI and the Annexes relating thereto, with
respect to activities in the Area, that question shall be referred to
the Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber for a ruling.
(b) If, at the commencement of or in the course of such arbitration, the
arbitral tribunal determines, either at the request of any party to
the dispute or proprio motu, that its decision depends upon a ruling
of the Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber, the arbitral tribunal shall refer
such question to the Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber for such ruling. The
arbitral tribunal shall then proceed to render its award in
conformity with the ruling of the SeaBed Disputes Chamber.
(c) In the absence of a provision in the contract on the arbitration
procedure to be applied in the dispute, the arbitration shall be
conducted in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules or such
other arbitration rules as may be prescribed in the rules,
regulations and procedures of the Authority, unless the parties to
the dispute otherwise agree.

Article 189
Limitation on jurisdiction with regard to decisions of the Authority

The Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber shall have no jurisdiction with regard to the
exercise by the Authority of its discretionary powers in accordance with
this Part; in no case shall it substitute its discretion for that of the
Authority. Without prejudice to article 191, in exercising its jurisdiction
pursuant to article 187, the Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber shall not pronounce
itself on the question of whether any rules, regulations and procedures of
the Authority are in conformity with this Convention, nor declare invalid
any such rules, regulations and procedures. Its jurisdiction in this regard
shall be confined to deciding claims that the application of any rules,
regulations and procedures of the Authority in individual cases would be in
conflict with the contractual obligations of the parties to the dispute or
their obligations under this Convention, claims concerning excess of
jurisdiction or misuse of power, and to claims for damages to be paid or
other remedy to be given to the party concerned for the failure of the
other party to comply with its contractual obligations or its obligations
under this Convention.

Author: international