press release

 Meeting of the Arbitral Tribunal and the Parties in the Matter of an Arbitration between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago Pursuant to Annex VII of the Law of the Sea Convention

The Hague, 23 August 2004

the Arbitral Tribunal established under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in the matter between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago met on 23 August 2004 in London with the Parties to discuss procedural and logistical matters.

 In particular, the Tribunal discussed with the Parties and adopted Rules of Procedure, setting out among other things, the procedural timeline for the case.

 According to the Rules of Procedure, pleadings will be submitted in the case from October 2004 until August 2005. Hearings shall be held either in London or a site in the Caribbean that the Parties may agree upon. The exact dates of hearings have yet to be determined.

 A copy of the Rules of Procedure and Order No. 2 can be found under "Recent and Pending Cases" on the PCA website: www.pca-cpa.org.

 History of the Proceedings

 On 16 February, 2004 Barbados instituted proceedings against the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago pursuant to Article 287 and Article 1 of Annex VII of UNCLOS. The case concerns the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf between Barbados and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. A five member arbitral tribunal was established in accordance with Articles 3 (b) and 3 (c) of UNCLOS, and consists of Judge Stephen Schwebel (President), Professor Vaughan Lowe (appointed by Barbados), Mr. Ian Brownlie CBE QC (appointed by Trinidad and Tobago), Professor Francisco Orrego Vicuña, and Sir Arthur Watts KCMG QC.

The International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) is serving as registry for the case.