The methods of settlement considered so far can be used in all types of disputes and are available to all states. Alongside these general methods are to be found specialised procedures created by particular groups of states for the resolution of disputes in a specific subject area. The machinery available for the settlement of disputes in special fields has been extensively considered elsewhere and will not be described again here. However, to convey an idea of the problems involved in constructing such machinery, and the way in which accepted methods can be adapted and combined to provide solutions, the next chapter examines some recent developments in the area of international trade law, while this chapter provides an outline and review of the arrangements for dispute settlement to be found in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention.

The Convention and its system

The 1982 Convention contains 307 articles and eleven annexes and was eight years in negotiation. With an instrument of such length and complexity, dealing with matters in which virtually all states have an interest of some kind, certain issues naturally proved more difficult than others. Not surprisingly, dispute settlement was one of the most contentious issues and the provisions which now comprise Part XV of the Convention went through several versions before the text was finally agreed.

The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) held its first substantive session at Caracas in 1974 and decided that the issue of dispute settlement should be dealt with by each Main Committee to the extent that the matter was relevant to its work.