Introduction
- Proceedings in the Delimitation Stage of the Arbitration
1.
This Award in the Second Stage of the Arbitration is rendered pursuant to an
Arbitration Agreement dated 3 October 1996 (the "Arbitration
Agreement"), between the Government of the State of Eritrea
("Eritrea") and the Government of the Republic of Yemen
("Yemen") (hereinafter "the Parties").
2. The
Arbitration Agreement, which appears as Annex 1 on page 51, was preceded by an
"Agreement on Principles" done at Paris on 21 May 1996, which was
signed by Eritrea and Yemen and witnessed by the Governments of the French
Republic, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Arab Republic of
Egypt. The Agreement on Principles provided that the Tribunal should decide
questions of territorial sovereignty and to that end the Tribunal rendered an
Award in the First Stage finding the sovereignty of the disputed islands in the
Red Sea to belong either to Eritrea or to Yemen. (See Award in the First Stage,
Chapter XI - Dispositif, paragraphs 527-528.)
3. In a
correspondence concerning the Written Pleadings for the Second Stage, and
including requests for an extension of the time allowed, a question was raised
by Eritrea relating to the Traditional Fishing Regime and how it might be
pleaded and argued in the Second Stage of the Arbitration. The President's
reply was: "the Tribunal is of the view that it is for Eritrea itself to
determine the contents of its written pleadings for that stage". This is
referred to in Chapter IV below.
4.
Pursuant to the time table set forth in the Arbitration Agreement, the Parties
filed written Memorials in the Second Stage on 9 March 1999 and
Counter-Memorials on 9 June 1999. On 25 May 1999, Mr. Tjaco van den Hout,
Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, succeeded as Registrar
Mr. Hans Jonkman, who had retired. Pursuant to Article 7(2) of the Arbitration
Agreement, Ms. Phyllis Pieper Hamilton, First Secretary of the Permanent Court
of Arbitration, served as Secretary to the Tribunal.
5.
Prior to the Hearings in the Second Stage of the Arbitration, after
consultation with the Parties, the Tribunal as contemplated by Article 7(4) of
the Arbitration Agreement sought assistance with the calculations of the
maritime boundaries and the technical preparation of the corresponding chart.
On 8 July 1999, pursuant to Article 7(4) the Tribunal communicated an Order to
the Parties designating Ms. Ieltje Anna Elema, geodetic engineer, Head of the
Geodesy and Tides Department of the Hydrographic Service of the Royal
Netherlands Navy, as its expert in geodesy.
6.
Article 2 of the Arbitration Agreement provides that:
1. The Tribunal is requested to provide rulings in
accordance with international law, in two stages.
2. The first stage shall result in an award on
territorial sovereignty and on the definition of the scope of the dispute
between Eritrea and Yemen . . .
3. The second stage shall result in an award
delimiting maritime boundaries. The Tribunal shall decide taking into account
the opinion that it will have formed on questions of territorial sovereignty,
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and any other pertinent
factor.
7.
Pursuant to the time table set forth in the Arbitration Agreement for the
various stages of the Arbitration, and with the consent of the Parties
regarding the venue, the Oral Proceedings in the second stage of the
Arbitration were held 5-16 July 1999 in the Great Hall of Justice in the Peace
Palace in The Hague. By agreement between the Parties, Yemen began the Oral
Proceedings.
8. The
Tribunal's task was greatly facilitated by the excellence of the oral
presentations on both sides.
9.
During the Oral Arguments, pursuant to Article 8(3) of the Arbitration
Agreement authorizing the Tribunal to request the Parties' written views on the
elucidation of any aspect of the matters before the Tribunal, counsel were
asked to respond to various questions. On 13 August 1999 the Parties submitted
written responses to questions put to them by the Tribunal on 13 and 16 July.
The Tribunal's questions and the answers provided by the Parties are set out in
Annex 2 on page 61.