THE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND V. JAPAN SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA (JURISDICTION AND ADMISSIBILITY) AWARD OF THE FIRST LOSC ANNEX VII ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL

By Professor Barbara Kwiatkowska The Southern Bluefin Tuna (Jurisdiction and Admissibility) Award of 4 August 2000 marked the first instance of application of compulsory arbitration under Part XV, Section 2 of the 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention and of exercising by the Annex VII Tribunal of la competence de la competence pursuant to Article 288(4) over the merits of the instant dispute. The 72-paragraph Award is a decision of pronounced procedural complexity and significant multifaceted impacts of which appreciation requires an in-depth acquaintance with procedural issues of peaceful settlement of disputes in general and the law-of-the-sea-related disputes in particular. Therefore, the book surveys first the establishment of and the course of proceedings before the Five-Member Annex VII Arbitral Tribunal, presided over by former ICJ President Stephen M. Schwebel, and also comprising Judges Keith, Yamada, Feliciano and Tresselt. Subsequently, the wide range of specific paramount ques