Hague rules today—

TODAY is D-Day in the Hague in the Netherlands for Trinidad and Tobago in their maritime boundary dispute with Barbados. The proceedings which were filed by Barbados following the arrest of two Barbados fishermen in Tobago waters in 2004, reaches a climax when an arbitral tribunal delivers its verdict.

On February 7, 2004, two Barbados fishermen Joseph Mason, 47, and Samuel Firebrace, 61, were arrested by members of the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, fishing in Tobago waters. The suspects and their catch were taken to Scarborough where the fishermen were charged with illegal fishing.

They were taken before Magistrate Joan Gill in the Scarborough Magistrates’ Court two days later, but freed after the court prosecutor offered no evidence. The fishermen left Tobago with their boat and catch.

The arrest of the Barbados fishermen angered their attorney general Mia Mottley. On February 16, 2004, Mottley initiated arbitral proceedings pursuant to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The dispute related to the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf between Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. Barbados wants a single unified maritime boundary line. Trinidad and Tobago contends the area which Barbados wants already belong to this country.

When the proceedings were filed by Barbados, it was the first big test for the new TT attorney general John Jeremie. He had to grapple with this matter, along with teaming up with Mottley and the Jamaican attorney general in petitioning the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to bring back the death penalty which had months before been declared unconstitutional by the privy council.

Jeremie and Mottley teamed up in March 2004 and were successful in getting the Privy Council to reverse its decision and declare the death penalty constitutional.

Jeremie was the agent for Trinidad and Tobago in these proceedings, along with John Almeida, of Charles Russell and Associates in London. Mottley was Barbados’ agent along with Robert Volterra, of Latham and Watkins of London.

Both sides looked far and wide for a most suitable arbitral tribunal to hear the case. In the end, a high-powered team was appointed and headed by Judge Stephen M. Schwebel, former president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The other members were Ian Brownlie QC of Blackstone Chambers in London, Professor Vaughan Lowe, Chichele Professor of International law, Oxford University, Professor Francisco Orrego Vicuna and Sir Arthur Watts QC.

By agreement of the two Governments, both the written submissions and oral proceedings in the arbitration are confidential. However, they will be made public later today.

The arbitral tribunal met with the parties on August 23, 2004 in London to discuss certain procedural and logistical matters relating to the case, such as timing and order of pleadings, place of arbitration and hearings, and rules of procedure.

Oral proceedings were held in London from October 17 to 28, 2005. At the end, judgment was reserved to a date to be fixed.

The award will be issued at 11 am today in the Hague at the headquarters of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which serves as a registry for the arbitral tribunal.