On 1 July 1999, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea delivered its first Judgment on the merits (See Press Release No. 23). A summary of the Judgment is available in Press Release No. 23 Add. 1. A summary of the separate and dissenting opinions appended to the Judgment is reproduced below. Judges Caminos, Yankov, Akl, Anderson, Vukas, Treves, and Eiriksson have appended a joint declaration. President Mensah; Vice-President Wolfrum; and Judges Zhao, Nelson, Chandrasekhara Rao, Anderson, Vukas and Laing have appended separate opinions to the Judgment. Judges Warioba and Ndiaye have appended dissenting opinions. 

Joint Declaration by Judges Caminos, Yankov, Akl, Anderson, Vukas, Treves and Eiriksson on the Question of Costs

The Judges who signed the Joint Declaration were unable to support the decision in the case on the question of costs for two reasons. Firstly, because of the clear agreement between the parties that the party found by the Tribunal to have been the "successful party" should be awarded its costs. The Judges observe that it was understood that the terms of the forerunner of article 34 of the Statute of the Tribunal, article 64 of the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice, did not exclude the possibility that a division of the costs between the parties could be ordered pursuant to an agreement between them.