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Such a declaration shall not affect or be affected by the obligation of a State Party to accept the jurisdiction of the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.[20] The seabed disputes shall exclusively be submitted to the Seabed Disputes Chamber.
A State Party, which is a party to a dispute not covered by a declaration in force, shall be deemed to have accepted the arbitration.[21]
A new declaration, a notice of revocation or the expiry of a declaration does not in any way affect proceedings pending before a court or tribunal having jurisdiction, unless the parties otherwise agree.[22]
The Determination of the Settlement Procedure
If the parties to a dispute have accepted the same procedure for the settlement of the dispute, it may be submitted only to that procedure, unless the parties otherwise agree.[23]
If the parties to a dispute have not accepted the same procedure for the settlement of the dispute, it may be submitted only to arbitration in accordance with Annex VII, unless the parties otherwise agree.[24]
Limitations and Exceptions to the compulsory Procedures
There are procedural limitations and exceptions to this form of compulsory settlement, as where states have agreed to settle their dispute concerning law of sea in another forum (e.g., the European Court of Justice for the EC states concerning fisheries disputes). In addition, a number of substantive matters may be excluded. Certain exclusions are prescribed by the 1982 Convention itself (Article 297), such as certain disputes relating to coastal States’ sovereign rights in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), certain disputes concerning maritime scientific research and, significantly, matters relating to the “allowable catch” and certain EEZ fisheries disputes (although these may be subject to compulsory conciliation). The exceptions are designed to take out of the compulsory settlement procedures certain categories of dispute that touch up vital interests of the State.
Article 298 of the 1982 Convention (Optional exceptions to applicability of Compulsory Procedures Entailing Binding Decisions) provides for, when signing, ratifying or acceding to this Convention or at any time thereafter, a State may, without prejudice to the obligations to settle dispute by peaceful means, declare in writing that it does not accept any one or more of the compulsory procedures, with respect to sea boundary delimitations, military activities and law enforcement activities, or the disputes which the Security Council of the United Nations is exercising the functions.[25]
One important optional exception is the disputes concerning the interpretation or application of articles 15, 74 and 83 relating to sea boundary delimitations, or those involving historic bays or titles, provided that a State having made such a declaration shall, when such a dispute arises subsequent to the entry into force of this Convention and where no agreement within a reasonable period of time is reached in negotiations between the parties, at the request of any party to the dispute, accept submission of the matter to conciliation under Annex V; and provided further that any dispute that necessarily involves the concurrent consideration of any unsettled dispute concerning sovereignty or other rights over continental or insular land territory shall be excluded from such submission.
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