Hearing in Ukraine v. Russia arbitration starts in Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague

10.06.2019 11:30

Ukrinform

On June 10-14, the Permanent Court of Arbitration will hold hearings on the preliminary objections of the Russian Federation in the arbitration Concerning Coastal State Rights in the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, and Kerch Strait, instituted by Ukraine against Russia.

As an Ukrinform correspondent reports from The Hague, the opening statement of the Russian Federation will be delivered on Monday, 10 June 2019, at 10 a.m. (CEST). The opening statement of Ukraine will be delivered on Tuesday, 11 June 2019, at 10 a.m. (CEST)

The second round will be held on June 13-14. On Thursday, 13 June 2019, the Russian Federation will present its second round of oral arguments. On Friday, 14 June 2019, Ukraine will present its second round of oral arguments.

The arbitral proceedings were instituted on 16 September 2016 when Ukraine served on the Russian Federation a Notification and Statement of Claim1 under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”). The Notification and Statement of Claim refers to a “dispute concerning coastal state rights in the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, and Kerch Strait”.

In May 2017, the first procedural meeting of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea was held, within the framework of which the arbitration was established to consider a dispute between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. The memorial, a package of evidence that Russia violates the sovereign rights of Ukraine in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and in the Kerch Strait, was filed with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on February 19, 2018. Russia submitted its objections to the jurisdiction of this court over consideration of Ukraine’s lawsuit against the Russian Federation.