MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina asks the law of the sea tribunal to halt Sea Lion and bar new oil permits

The measures are sought pending the constitution of the arbitral tribunal under Annex VII of the Convention, proceedings Argentina launched with a notification to the United Kingdom on September 28

Argentina has asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to order the United Kingdom to prevent the development of the Sea Lion oil project north of the Falklands and to refrain from granting new permits to exploit the resources of the disputed continental shelf, according to a statement published by the Hamburg-based tribunal. The hearing will be set “at the earliest possible date”.

The request, submitted on October 13 under Article 290(5) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, lists four provisional measures: that the United Kingdom prevent “the commencement or continuation” of hydrocarbon exploitation through Sea Lion; that it refrain from using information obtained from exploring the disputed areas “to the detriment of the rights” of Argentina; that it stop preventing Argentina from complying with its obligation to protect the marine environment of those areas; and that it refrain from any measure that might aggravate the dispute, “in particular the granting of new permits”.

The measures are sought pending the constitution of the arbitral tribunal under Annex VII of the Convention, proceedings Argentina launched with a notification to the United Kingdom on September 28. Before that tribunal, Argentina asks for a declaration that the United Kingdom, by unilaterally authorising the exploration and exploitation of resources in the waters around the South Atlantic archipelagos, is in breach of its obligation to respect Argentina’s “sovereignty and sovereign rights” over those maritime areas; of the obligation to refrain from unilateral measures in areas subject to a dispute “within the framework of the decolonization process” of the UN; of the obligation to protect the marine environment; and of the obligation to settle disputes by peaceful means.

To prescribe provisional measures, the tribunal must consider that the arbitral tribunal would have prima facie jurisdiction and that the urgency of the situation so requires. In previous cases, such as Chagos in 2015 and Crimea in 2020, tribunals under the Convention have declined to rule on questions of territorial sovereignty.

The United Kingdom has said it will engage with the process and challenge any attempt to use it to settle sovereignty. Overseas Territories Minister Uma Kumaran said on Tuesday that London’s position is that provisional measures are binding on the parties. Sea Lion, operated by Navitas Petroleum with 65% and Rockhopper Exploration with 35%, expects first oil in 2028.