''Mauritius v. United Kingdom'' was an arbitration case concerning the status of the

Chagos Archipelago The Chagos Archipelago () or Chagos Islands (formerly the Bassas de Chagas, and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives arch ...

and the attempts of the United Kingdom government to create a

Marine Protected Area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conse ...

in British Indian Ocean Territory. The dispute was arbitrated by a arbitral tribunal constituted under Annex VII of the 1982

United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 c ...

. The

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that aris ...

was asked on the 31st of March 2011 to function as registry in the proceedings.

Disputes over arbiters

In 2011 the government of Mauritius challenged Sir

Christopher Greenwood Sir Christopher John Greenwood (born 12 May 1955) is Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge and a former British judge at the International Court of Justice. Prior to his election, he was professor of international law at the London School of ...

's role in the arbitration proceedings on the grounds that his role as a UK Foreign and Commonwealth legal adviser could bias him in favour of the United Kingdom's claims to the Chagos Islands. However, this was rejected by the tribunal on the basis that this "neither constituted nor continued an already existing relationship."

Dispute over jurisdiction

On the 15 January 2013 the tribunal released procedural order no. 2. In this order the tribunal rejected a British request that the tribunal should deal with British jurisdictional challenges in a preliminary phase.

Award of the arbitral tribunal

On the 18 March 2015, the arbitral tribunal ruled that the

Chagos Marine Protected Area The Chagos Marine Protected Area, located in the central Indian Ocean in the British Indian Ocean Territory of the United Kingdom, is one of the world's largest marine protected areas, and one of the largest protected areas of any type (land or se ...

was "not in accordance with the provisions of the Convention" and declared unanimously that in establishing the MPA surrounding the Chagos Archipelago the United Kingdom had breached its obligations under Articles 2(3), 56(2), and 194(4) of the Convention.In the Matter of the Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitration - before - an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea- between - the Republic of Mauritius - and - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
award of the arbitral tribunal dated 18 March 2015, accessed July 25, 2016, paragraphs 544-547: "In concluding that the declaration of the MPA was not in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, the Tribunal has taken no view on the substantive quality or nature of the MPA or on the importance of environmental protection. The Tribunal’s concern has been with the manner in which the MPA was established, rather than its substance. It is now open to the Parties to enter into the negotiations that the Tribunal would have expected prior to the proclamation of the MPA, with a view to achieving a mutually satisfactory arrangement for protecting the marine environment, to the extent necessary under a “sovereignty umbrella”... DECLARES, unanimously, that in establishing the MPA surrounding the Chagos Archipelago the United Kingdom breached its obligations under Articles 2(3), 56(2), and 194(4) of the Convention.

References

External links

Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitration (Mauritius v. United Kingdom)Legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 (Request for Advisory Opinion)
a related case at the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

{{Chagos Islands dispute 2013 in Mauritius 2013 in the United Kingdom Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute Law of the sea Mauritius–United Kingdom relations Permanent Court of Arbitration cases Environmental controversies

Disputes over arbiters

Dispute over jurisdiction

Award of the arbitral tribunal

See also

References

External links