The special chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in its decision dismissed the objections of the Maldives, reinforcing the view that Chagos belongs to Mauritius and that the dispute will continue to be heard by ITLOS.
So what are the implications of the ITLOS decision for the UK and the US? And why will the next chapter in the Chagos fight be coming from the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission?
On 28 January a special chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) dismissed Maldives’ objection that it could not hear the case about a 98,828 square kilometer stretch of ocean between the Chagos and Maldives and claimed by both sides. In short, what the Maldives argued was that the ITLOS could not hear the case since it was still not clear whether it was Mauritius or the UK that owned the Chagos.
Last modified: February 1, 2021