Olena Zerkal / Photo from UNIAN
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry notes that it was a difficult task to collect factual evidence of violations of the said Convention.
The United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will in June 2019 begin hearings on legal grounds to consider Ukraine’s claim against Russia for its violation of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, according to Deputy Foreign Minister for European Integration Olena Zerkal.
“Next year in June, we will already see hearings on the jurisdiction of the Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Zerkal said, speaking at the Ukrainian Week conference in London.
She also noted that Ukraine had come a long way, having held all the necessary consultations and followed pre-trial procedures, providing the International Tribunal with a memorandum "with all our requirements and legal positions."
"I never expected that it would be so difficult to collect all the evidence and file the memorandum with the arbitration," she said.
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As UNIAN reported earlier, on September 14, 2016, Ukraine launched a dispute with Russia over violations of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
MFA Ukraine noted in its statement that Kyiv was set to prove in arbitration hearings that since 2014, Russia has unlawfully excluded Ukraine from exercising its maritime rights; it has exploited Ukraine's sovereign resources for its own ends; and it has usurped Ukraine's right to regulate within its own maritime areas.
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On February 19, 2018, filed a memorandum in arbitration proceedings against the Russian Federation under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS").
The document submitted by Ukraine on February 19 contains all details regarding its claim and legal grounds.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry expects a final decision by the International Tribunal on the UNCLOS violations by Russia no earlier than 2021.