WHEREAS Article 5 of Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides that “[u]nless the parties to the dispute otherwise agree, the arbitral tribunal shall determine its own procedure, assuring to each party a full opportunity to be heard and to present its case”;

WHEREAS on 26 May 2010, the Tribunal adopted the Rules of Procedure for these proceedings, which included rules on the conduct of hearings;

CONSIDERING the terms of the Tribunal’s letter to the Parties dated 28 January 2013, which reserved the period of 9-18 December 2013 for the hearing;

CONSIDERING the terms of the Tribunal’s letter to the Parties dated 11 February 2013, which amended certain provisions of the Rules of Procedure, including the time limit for the Tribunal to conduct hearings after the submission of the Rejoinder;

CONSIDERING the Parties’ comments on a draft of this Order provided to the Parties on 21 October 2013;