ITLOS has handed out in 2015 two provisional measures orders and an advisory opinion. The Provisional Measures Order of 25 April 2015, in the maritime delimitation case between Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, was adopted by an ad hoc Chamber of the Tribunal. It accepts for the first time in ITLOS jurisprudence the "plausibility" test for the merits submission as a prerequisite of a provisional measures order In the Provisional Measures Order of 24 August 2015 on the Enrica Lexie incident between Italy and India, the provisional measure prescribed consists in that both parties suspend or refrain from initiating proceedings which might aggravate the dispute submitted to the Annex VII Arbitral Tribunal. The Advisory Opinion of 2 April 2015, upon the request of a West African fisheries commission, rejects the view that ITLOS in its full formation lacks advisory jurisdiction. It throws light on the obligations of the flag state of vessels fishing in the exclusive economic zone of another state and on the role of the European Union.
Professor of International Law (Emeritus), University of Milan, Italy; Former Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Member of the Editorial Board.
