國際海洋法法庭與第一、二號塞加輪案

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the M/V 'Saiga' Cases

國際海洋法法庭是一九八二年聯合國海洋法公約中爭端解決制度的最重要機制。法庭之管轄權、組成與程序規定於公約之附件六。在有些案件中，公約要求被扣船、人在提交合理金錢保證後，立刻獲釋。當船、人因違反公約而被旦扣時，船旗國有權依照公約之規定，提請法庭決定何為合理之金錢保證，而下令交保放人。在一九九七年十一月十三日，法庭受理了第一樁案件，即塞加輪（M／V “Saiga”）案。本案及外國船舶、人員立即釋放之請求。事實證明，法庭在第一號及第二號塞加輪案中之判決，成功地維繫了國際司法的一致性。

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea-established in 1996 in Hamburg-is constituted and functions in accordance with the provision of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Tribunal, in particular, deals with the uses and resources of the sea and the setting of the limits of national maritime zones. Its competence, organization, and the trial procedures are regulated in Annex 6 of the Convention. On November 13, 1997, the Tribunal received its first case - the M/V'Saiga' Case. This case was concerned with the interpretation and application of Article 292 of the Convention, which embodies a novel procedure for effecting the prompt release of detained vessels. This was the first time that this difficult provision had been examined by an international tribunal. Following a description of the dispute and an analysis of Article 292 of the Convention, this author concludes that the Tribunal has successfully preserved the judicial consistency.