Dhaka has received the verdict of the case related to maritime dispute between Bangladesh and India from the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Foreign Ministry DG Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury said the verdict had been handed over yesterday afternoon and was now being examined.
The court will issue a press release and a summary of the verdict today and Bangladesh will give its formal reaction after that as per the court’s instruction.
The court verdict is binding to all parties and there is no option for appeal.
The five-member court based in The Hague pronounced the verdict. It will act an instrument to settle the maritime delimitation dispute between the two countries and resolve how much area Bangladesh will get in about 25,000 square-kilometres disputed area in the Bay of Bengal.
Immediately after assuming power in 2009, the Awami League-led government had made a political decision to resolve the maritime dispute with India through an international court as Dhaka and New Delhi could not come to a solution in the past 40 years.
The arbitral proceedings at the court started in 2009.
According to the rules of procedures of the case, if any party needs any interpretation of the verdict, it can make a request to the court within 30 days of receiving the verdict and the interpretation would be made available within 45 days.
In the case, Bangladesh agent was former foreign minister Dipu Moni while Indian agent was Neeru Chadha, joint secretary and the legal adviser of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
Rüdiger Wolfrum was the President of the five-member court.
In October 2013, the arbitral tribunal visited the site’s relevant areas.
In 2009, Bangladesh also initiated the arbitral process to settle maritime delimitation dispute with Myanmar in the same court. The case was, however, shifted to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos) upon request from Myanmar.
Following Itlos’ verdict in 2012, Bangladesh got over 110,000 sq-km area including the disputed 25,000 sq-km.
In 1974, Bangladesh government awarded six blocks in shallow sea to several international oil companies but India and Myanmar claimed that the blocks were inside the boundary of their maritime territories.
Bangladesh continued bilateral negotiation with India until 1980 and with Myanmar until 1986 but no results were achieved.
In 2005, the government took the initiative to award 28 blocks in the Bay of Bengal, but Myanmar claimed that 17 of the blocks fell inside its territory while India claimed 10 blocks.
The government floated tender in 2008 without any consultation and ConocoPhillips was awarded eight blocks. But the international oil company signed agreement for only one block in the face of strong protest from the neighbouring countries.
When the Awami League government came to power in 2009, it decided to resort to the Permanent Court of Arbitration to resolve the disputes.