TT/Bajan fishing row

JUDGE Anthony Lucky, a member of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) said yesterday that both Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados have to abide by Tuesday’s ruling of the arbitral tribunal at the Hague in the Netherlands.

Lucky, a former Court of Appeal judge in Trinidad, is one of 21 judges in ITLOS with headquarters in Germany.

When contacted yesterday, Lucky, whose term expires in 2011, said both Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados agreed to arbitration and must accept whatever the outcome by the five-member tribunal.

On Tuesday, the tribunal recommended that Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados must now sit down in good faith so the fisher folk of Barbados can gain access to the fisheries in TT waters. The tribunal pointed out that Trinidad and Tobago has the right and duty to conserve and manage the living resources of waters within its jurisdiction.

Barbados initiated proceedings on February 16, 2004, days after two Bajan fishermen Joseph Mason, 47, and Samuel Firebrace, 61, were arrested by the TT Coast Guard for fishing off Tobago.

Asked if Tuesday’s ruling was the end of the matter, Justice Lucky said “that may be so for the time being.”

Lucky added, “based on the ruling of the tribunal, both parties must now sit down and negotiate a fishing agreement which is in the best interest of both countries. It is only if they cannot reach an agreement relating to fishing, then one of the parties may initiate action before the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea. And if that time comes and there is a ruling, that will be the final one.”

According to Lucky, if the matter reaches ITLOS, then both countries would need judges from their own countries to represent them. He said he would be Trinidad and Tobago’s representative on ITLOS’ 21-member panel.

But there are no Barbadian nationals on ITLOS, so a representative would have to be appointed and added to the panel of judges.

Lucky said this is not uncommon to international disputes. He said a judge was appointed in the Mox Plant case between Ireland and England. He said England already had a representative on the panel, so Ireland went for Alberto Szekely of Mexico.

The same thing applied in 2004 when Lucky sat on his first case - the Straits of Johor case involving Singapore and Malaysia. The two countries had no representatives on the ITLOS panel so they each appointed persons to sit on the case.