Dhaka readies for long legal battle
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Maritime Dispute With India-Myanmar
Dhaka readies for long legal battle
Chances of amicable settlement slim
Rezaul Karim
Bangladesh is preparing for a lengthy legal battle at an international tribunal to establish its claim over territorial waters in the Bay of Bengal, as talks for an amicable settlement of maritime boundary disputes with India and Myanmar do not seem promising.
Bangladesh's documents in the case regarding the dispute with Myanmar have been finalised, and will be filed at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) by July 1. The deadline for filing of counter-documents by Myanmar is December 1.
Bangladesh is also scheduled to submit, by May 31, 2011, a memorandum to the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations, claiming its legitimate authority over territorial waters in connection with the dispute with India. India will submit a counter-memorandum by May 31, 2012.
The Bangladesh government already appointed a panel of foreign experts to prepare the documents for the legal battle at the UN, foreign ministry sources said.
Besides, a technical team of Bangladeshi experts, led by a retired navy official, is currently reviewing the legal provisions, while also negotiating with Myanmar.
Despite Bangladesh's move for seeking UN involvement, the country's Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said at a press conference on June 13, "We have kept open the option of amicable settlement through bilateral discussions."
Bangladesh lodged objections with the UN, regarding the claims of India and Myanmar on October 8, 2009, as it has disputes with both countries in two areas -- ''natural prolongation of the continental shelf and the baseline".
ITLOS already nominated three of the five arbitrators of the tribunal instituted for settlement of the dispute with India. The three are Tullio Treves of Italy, Ivan Anthony Shearer of Australia, and Rudiger Wolfrum of Germany.
Bangladesh nominated Alan Vaughan Lowe, former professor of international law at the University of Oxford, and India proposed the name of P Sreenivasa Rao, former legal adviser to its external affairs ministry.
ITLOS, with its headquarters in Germany, is an independent judicial body established by the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) to adjudicate disputes arising out of interpretation and application of the convention.
India submitted its claim to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a UN body that also deals with the law of the seas.
A high official of the Bangladesh foreign ministry told The Daily Star that the UNCLOS wing of the ministry is working relentlessly, and coordinating with legal experts, to put forward the country's claims at ITLOS by July this year in the legal battle with Myanmar as well.
There will be 23 judges (21 from ITLOS and one each nominated by Bangladesh and Myanmar) during the hearing of Bangladesh's objection to Myanmar's claim.
ITLOS finds it necessary to authorise the presentation of the reply and rejoinder.
According to the UN body set schedule, Bangladesh is to reply to Myanmar's statement by March 2011, and Myanmar is to give its rejoinder by July 2011.
Bangladesh official sources said the hearing of their and Myanmar's claims will begin at the end of next year, and it might take two to two and a half years for the final judgment. Arbitration settlement with India might take five years, they added.
The officials said demarcation of maritime boundary is a lengthy battle because of its complicated nature and importance. "We are trying to engage all our resources and best efforts, no matter how many years it takes to establish our legitimate claims in the Bay."
The UNCLOS wing of the Bangladesh foreign ministry already sought a fund of Tk 80 crore for the legal battles, and sent a relevant letter to the finance ministry.
Meantime, Myanmar at the fifth round of technical level talks with Bangladesh, held in January in Chittagong, shifted from its rigid position for following the equidistance method, and agreed to resolve the dispute on the basis of "equity and equidistance of resources".
But at the sixth round of the talks Myanmar brought a new proposal for drawing a line near the "friendship line", which is an imaginary line down to St Martin's Island in the northeast part of the Bay.
The sixth round was held in Myanmar's new capital Nay Pyi Taw on March 17 and 18, where the Bangladesh expert-level delegation was led by Additional Foreign Secretary (UNCLOS) Rear Admiral (retd) Md Khurshed Alam.
Bangladesh officials said the sixth round of the talks did not progress much as Myanmar made the new proposal which apparently seems just a tactic for buying time, and for delaying a resolution through bilateral means.
Though the Bangladesh side agreed to consider Myanmar's new proposal, the officials said preparations are going on in full swing for the legal battle at ITLOS.
Talking to The Daily Star, Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshed Alam recently said the talks with Myanmar are still at the technical level.
About bilateral talks with both India and Myanmar, he said Bangladesh is ready to sit with any of its neighbours to resolve the disputes.
Speaking anonymously, another foreign ministry official said there has been no meeting with India for a long time, and it seems India wants to resolve the disputes through arbitration by the UN.
According to UNCLOS, any coastal country is entitled to have first 12 nautical miles from its baseline as territorial sea, 24 nautical miles as contiguous zone, and the next adjoining 200 nautical miles as its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Generally a state's EEZ extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles out from its coast. But in the cases of Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar the situation is difficult, as coasts of these countries follow a curve creating overlap of territories.
In 1974, Bangladesh became the first country in South Asia to have declared its jurisdictions on territorial waters, economic zones, and continental shelf by legislating the Territorial and Maritime Zones Act.
Since then there was a series of meetings with India and Myanmar, but negotiations remained inconclusive as all three countries took different approaches to demarcate their maritime boundaries.
Bangladesh favours a principle based on equity, which actually resulted in an area of overlap, while India and Myanmar favours line-based equidistance system to get bigger maritime areas.
Under a UN charter, the principle of "equity" takes into account a country's population, economic status and needs, GDP growth, and other human issues, while the "equidistance" system marks the boundary through geometric calculations.
According to UNCLOS, any such dispute should be resolved on the basis of equity, and in light of relevant circumstances. And that makes Bangladesh's demand for equity based demarcation the best choice.
The convention also says the states will first try to settle disputes through negotiations, and if the negotiations fail, the principle of equity will apply -- implying that justice and fairness must be the hallmark of settlement.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Maritime Dispute With India-Myanmar
Dhaka readies for long legal battle
Chances of amicable settlement slim
Rezaul Karim
Bangladesh is preparing for a lengthy legal battle at an international tribunal to establish its claim over territorial waters in the Bay of Bengal, as talks for an amicable settlement of maritime boundary disputes with India and Myanmar do not seem promising.
Bangladesh's documents in the case regarding the dispute with Myanmar have been finalised, and will be filed at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) by July 1. The deadline for filing of counter-documents by Myanmar is December 1.
Bangladesh is also scheduled to submit, by May 31, 2011, a memorandum to the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations, claiming its legitimate authority over territorial waters in connection with the dispute with India. India will submit a counter-memorandum by May 31, 2012.
The Bangladesh government already appointed a panel of foreign experts to prepare the documents for the legal battle at the UN, foreign ministry sources said.
Besides, a technical team of Bangladeshi experts, led by a retired navy official, is currently reviewing the legal provisions, while also negotiating with Myanmar.
Despite Bangladesh's move for seeking UN involvement, the country's Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said at a press conference on June 13, "We have kept open the option of amicable settlement through bilateral discussions."
Bangladesh lodged objections with the UN, regarding the claims of India and Myanmar on October 8, 2009, as it has disputes with both countries in two areas -- ''natural prolongation of the continental shelf and the baseline".
ITLOS already nominated three of the five arbitrators of the tribunal instituted for settlement of the dispute with India. The three are Tullio Treves of Italy, Ivan Anthony Shearer of Australia, and Rudiger Wolfrum of Germany.
Bangladesh nominated Alan Vaughan Lowe, former professor of international law at the University of Oxford, and India proposed the name of P Sreenivasa Rao, former legal adviser to its external affairs ministry.
ITLOS, with its headquarters in Germany, is an independent judicial body established by the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) to adjudicate disputes arising out of interpretation and application of the convention.
India submitted its claim to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a UN body that also deals with the law of the seas.
A high official of the Bangladesh foreign ministry told The Daily Star that the UNCLOS wing of the ministry is working relentlessly, and coordinating with legal experts, to put forward the country's claims at ITLOS by July this year in the legal battle with Myanmar as well.
There will be 23 judges (21 from ITLOS and one each nominated by Bangladesh and Myanmar) during the hearing of Bangladesh's objection to Myanmar's claim.
ITLOS finds it necessary to authorise the presentation of the reply and rejoinder.
According to the UN body set schedule, Bangladesh is to reply to Myanmar's statement by March 2011, and Myanmar is to give its rejoinder by July 2011.
Bangladesh official sources said the hearing of their and Myanmar's claims will begin at the end of next year, and it might take two to two and a half years for the final judgment. Arbitration settlement with India might take five years, they added.
The officials said demarcation of maritime boundary is a lengthy battle because of its complicated nature and importance. "We are trying to engage all our resources and best efforts, no matter how many years it takes to establish our legitimate claims in the Bay."
The UNCLOS wing of the Bangladesh foreign ministry already sought a fund of Tk 80 crore for the legal battles, and sent a relevant letter to the finance ministry.
Meantime, Myanmar at the fifth round of technical level talks with Bangladesh, held in January in Chittagong, shifted from its rigid position for following the equidistance method, and agreed to resolve the dispute on the basis of "equity and equidistance of resources".
But at the sixth round of the talks Myanmar brought a new proposal for drawing a line near the "friendship line", which is an imaginary line down to St Martin's Island in the northeast part of the Bay.
The sixth round was held in Myanmar's new capital Nay Pyi Taw on March 17 and 18, where the Bangladesh expert-level delegation was led by Additional Foreign Secretary (UNCLOS) Rear Admiral (retd) Md Khurshed Alam.
Bangladesh officials said the sixth round of the talks did not progress much as Myanmar made the new proposal which apparently seems just a tactic for buying time, and for delaying a resolution through bilateral means.
Though the Bangladesh side agreed to consider Myanmar's new proposal, the officials said preparations are going on in full swing for the legal battle at ITLOS.
Talking to The Daily Star, Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshed Alam recently said the talks with Myanmar are still at the technical level.
About bilateral talks with both India and Myanmar, he said Bangladesh is ready to sit with any of its neighbours to resolve the disputes.
Speaking anonymously, another foreign ministry official said there has been no meeting with India for a long time, and it seems India wants to resolve the disputes through arbitration by the UN.
According to UNCLOS, any coastal country is entitled to have first 12 nautical miles from its baseline as territorial sea, 24 nautical miles as contiguous zone, and the next adjoining 200 nautical miles as its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Generally a state's EEZ extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles out from its coast. But in the cases of Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar the situation is difficult, as coasts of these countries follow a curve creating overlap of territories.
In 1974, Bangladesh became the first country in South Asia to have declared its jurisdictions on territorial waters, economic zones, and continental shelf by legislating the Territorial and Maritime Zones Act.
Since then there was a series of meetings with India and Myanmar, but negotiations remained inconclusive as all three countries took different approaches to demarcate their maritime boundaries.
Bangladesh favours a principle based on equity, which actually resulted in an area of overlap, while India and Myanmar favours line-based equidistance system to get bigger maritime areas.
Under a UN charter, the principle of "equity" takes into account a country's population, economic status and needs, GDP growth, and other human issues, while the "equidistance" system marks the boundary through geometric calculations.
According to UNCLOS, any such dispute should be resolved on the basis of equity, and in light of relevant circumstances. And that makes Bangladesh's demand for equity based demarcation the best choice.
The convention also says the states will first try to settle disputes through negotiations, and if the negotiations fail, the principle of equity will apply -- implying that justice and fairness must be the hallmark of settlement.
