The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) will hold hearings of the Ukrainian and Russian sides in the case of the seizure of Ukrainian ships and sailors in the Kerch Strait region, according to a press release distributed by the PCA on Sept. 30.
“In its Procedural Order No. 3, issued on Sept. 17, the Arbitral Tribunal … in the arbitration instituted by Ukraine against the Russian Federation on the Dispute Concerning the Detention of Ukrainian Naval Vessels and Servicemen, has established the schedule and modalities for a hearing concerning the Russian Federation’s Preliminary Objections to be held at the seat of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at the Peace Palace, The Hague, in the Netherlands,” the press release says.
The hearing is scheduled to begin on Oct. 11, and will take place in a hybrid format, with some of the members of the Parties’ delegations and some of the members of the Arbitral Tribunal joining in person and others by videoconference. In accordance with the schedule fixed by the Arbitral Tribunal, the hearing will be conducted in two rounds. On Oct. 11, Russia will deliver its first round of oral arguments. On Oct. 12, Ukraine will deliver its first round of oral arguments. On Oct. 14, the Russian Federation will present its second round of oral arguments. On Oct. 15, Ukraine will present its second round of oral arguments. If required, a further session of the hearing will be conducted on Oct. 16.
The opening statement made by each Party’s Agent in the first round of oral pleadings will be webcast on the internet via live-streaming, it says.
According to the procedure rules, no public access will be available for the remainder of the hearing in any form. However, under Article 28(4) of the Rules of Procedure, transcripts for said portions of the hearing shall be published together with the Arbitral Tribunal’s final award, subject to any redactions of confidential information authorized by the Arbitral Tribunal.
It says that in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, the PCA, after consultation with the Parties, will from time to time issue press releases, concerning the status of the proceedings. Moreover, procedural orders and decisions of the Arbitral Tribunal will be made publicly available on the website of PCA seven days after they have been notified to the Parties. Further, any award of the Arbitral Tribunal will be made public unless both Parties agree otherwise.
As reported, in 2016, Ukraine filed a lawsuit against Russia before the UN International Court of Justice on violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in the framework of which arbitration was established to consider this case. On May 22, 2019, Russia filed an objection with the International Arbitration Tribunal regarding its jurisdiction to consider Ukraine’s lawsuit against the Russian Federation. The positions of Ukraine and Russia were published on the website of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in June 2019.
In November 2019, the International Court of Justice of the United Nations recognized its jurisdiction in the case of Ukraine against Russia on Moscow’s violation of two conventions – on the fight against the financing of terrorism and on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. Thus, the court ruled in favor of Ukraine, and now it can proceed to the examination of the case on the merits.
In addition, in May 2019, the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, located in Hamburg, made a decision obliging Russia to release three Ukrainian ships – the tugboat Yany Kapu and two boats Berdiansk and Nikopol, and 24 Ukrainian sailors, captured by it in the Kerch Strait region in November 2018.
PCA is an international arbitration court established in 1899 to resolve international disputes. It is located in The Hague (the Netherlands). Some 122 states are members of the court.
