UN court to start public hearings on Ghana-Argentina navy ship case November 29

Hamburg-based UN court, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), will hold public hearings on the case between Ghana and Argentina over the seized navy ship on November 29 and 30, 2012.

The Argentine ship, ARA Libertad, is currently docked at Ghana’s Tema Port.

President of the tribunal, Judge Yanai, will sit on the case, the UN body said in an official statement.

“The public hearing on the Request for provisional measures in the “ARA Libertad” Case (Argentina v. Ghana) will open on Thursday, November 29, 2012, at 9.30 a.m. Judge Yanai, President of the Tribunal, will preside,” the statement said.

The court indicated that Argentina, on November 14, 2012, submitted a request for the prescription of provisional measures under article 290, paragraph 5, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to the Tribunal in a dispute with Ghana concerning the detention by the Ghanaian authorities of the frigate of the Argentine Navy, ARA Libertad.

According to the ITLOS, Argentina, in its request claims that the frigate ARA Libertad was illegally detained by the authorities of Ghana at the Tema Port on October 2, 2012.

“In the provisional measures proceedings before the Tribunal, Argentina requests the prescription of the following provisional measure: that Ghana unconditionally enables the Argentine warship Frigate ARA Libertad to leave the Tema port and the jurisdictional waters of Ghana and to be resupplied to that end,” the UN Tribunal stated.

The hearing which will be opened to the public, will also be broadcast live on the Tribunal’s website.

By Ekow Quandzie

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