The Agreement was adopted 23 May 1997 at the Seventh Meeting of the State Parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 and entered into force 30 December 2001. At present there are 22 state parties to the Agreement. The Agreement is open for accession by all states.
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is a standing body of international justice established by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea for the settlement of disputes arising out of the interpretation or application of the Convention. The seat of the Tribunal is in Hamburg, Germany.
The Tribunal is composed of 21 elected members with recognized competence in the law of the sea. The number of judges and their geographical distribution ensure that all regions and principal legal systems are represented on an equal footing.
The Agreement provides that the property, assets and funds of the Tribunal shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, seizure, expropriation or any other form of interference. The property, assets and funds of the Tribunal shall be exempt from direct taxes, customs duties,
prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports of articles imported or exported by the Tribunal for its official use.
In accordance with Article 10 of the Statute of the Tribunal and Article 14 of the Agreement the officials of the Tribunal shall, when engaged on the business of the Tribunal, be accorded diplomatic privileges and immunities. The Registrar and other officials of the Tribunal (37 persons) shall enjoy in any country where they may be on the business of the Tribunal, or in any country through which they may pass on such business, certain privileges and immunities. In particular, they shall be accorded immunity from personal arrest or detention and from seizure of their personal baggage, immunity from legal process with respect to words spoken or written in discharging their functions. Similar privileges and immunities are accorded to certain categories of persons who participate directly in implementing the Tribunal’s functions, namely experts, agents, counsel and advocates before the Tribunal, witnesses and persons performing missions by order of the Tribunal.
Accession to the Agreement is in the interests of the Russian Federation since it corresponds with Russia’s desire to strengthen principles such as the peaceful settlement of international disputes and the non-use of force or threat of force in violation of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter within international relations. Russia’s accession to the Agreement would make a significant contribution towards establishing the conditions whereby the Tribunal can fulfill its functions independently and efficiently, would broaden the opportunities for cooperation between Russia and this prestigious international body that has already demonstrated its impartiality.