Hearings have taken place at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over the seizure by Russia of three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 crew members on Nov. 25 2018. As in all the international court proceedings brought by Ukraine against Russia since 2014, the Russian Federation first tries to deny the specific court’s jurisdiction, and the oral hearings scheduled from Oct. 11-16, focused solely on Russia’s attempt to get the case thrown out. It is, of course, for the court to decide, however this is not the first time that Russia has argued that the UN’s Tribunal for the Law of the Sea [ITLOS] has no jurisdiction, with the Tribunal presumably disagreeing since it agreed on May 25, 2019, to impose provisional measures. The fact that Russia flouted the Tribunal’s order that it release the naval seamen and vessels immediately is, unfortunately, nothing new, but does not change the fact that the only dissenting voice was that of the judge from Russia. International court proceedings are always very drawn-out, and Russia’s disputes about jurisdiction, applications (in the trial over MH17) for ‘alternative theories’ to be examined, etc. all slow things down even further, with this probably the intention.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
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Halya Coynash: Russia says seizure of Ukrainian seamen is not UN Tribunal’s business
In this file photo a Russian coast guard ship rams a Ukrainian vessel on Nov. 25, 2018, in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait. Russia illegally seized three Ukrainian ships and detained 24 Ukrainian sailors.
