Latest news with #PermanentCourtOfArbitration
News24
30-07-2025
- Politics
- News24
Former top advocate and Limpopo Safety MEC Seth Nthai pleads guilty to corruption
Disbarred advocate and former Limpopo safety MEC Seth Nthai has pleaded guilty to corruption. In 2009, Nthai attempted to solicit a R5 million bribe from Italian businessman Mario Marcenaro. Nthai was acting for the South African government in a mining rights dispute before the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague at the time, and the bribe was meant to be in exchange for him using his influence to push through a settlement. His name was removed from the roll of advocates in 2013, and he was criminally charged with three counts of corruption in 2022. Nthai pleaded not guilty before Judge Dario Dosio in October last year, but Dosio then recused himself. On Wednesday, Nthai made a new deal with the State, pleading guilty to one count and receiving a fine of R500 000 - or two years behind bars - in exchange.
South China Morning Post
12-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Wang Yi reiterates Beijing's rejection of South China Sea ruling
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi restated Beijing's rejection of the 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling on Friday, on the eve of the ruling's ninth anniversary, amid renewed tensions and growing speculation about a potential second legal challenge. Calling the decision a 'farce', Wang said the case, brought by the Philippines against China's South China Sea claims and ruled on by a tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, was 'orchestrated and manipulated by external powers'. Their purpose 'was to destabilise the South China Sea for their own benefit', Wang said during the annual East Asian foreign ministers' meetings in Kuala Lumpur. He said China works to maintain stability in the region and has been speeding up the negotiation of a binding South China Sea code of conduct with Asean. 'All attempts to stir up trouble or sow discord will ultimately fail,' he added. The Philippines filed the case with the court in 2013, but Beijing refused to participate.
Arab News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan urges India to abide by Indus Waters Treaty after world court's supplemental award
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday urged India to restore the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which ensures water for 80 percent Pakistani farms, and fulfil its obligations, days after the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) announced a supplemental award on the proceedings instituted by Pakistan against India over Indus waters. India announced it was putting the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty in abeyance a day after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan, an allegation Islamabad denies. Pakistan has previously said the treaty has no provision for one side to unilaterally pull back and that any blocking of river water flowing to Pakistan will be considered 'an act of war.' In its supplemental award on the proceedings instituted by Pakistan against India over two hydroelectric projects, the court ruled on June 27 that India's decision of holding the IWT in abeyance did not deprive the court of its competence to adjudicate Pakistan's complaints against its neighbor. Pakistan has opposed some of hydroelectric projects by India, saying they violate the World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus waters. In response to the supplemental award announced by the Court of Arbitration, Pakistan's Foreign Office said the court found hearing the Pakistan-India dispute over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects found that it has a continuing responsibility to advance these proceedings in a timely, efficient and fair manner. 'The Court of Arbitration decided to announce this supplemental award in the wake of India's illegal and unilateral announcement to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance,' the Pakistani Foreign Office said in a statement. 'The award vindicates Pakistan's position that the Indus Waters Treaty remains valid and operational, and that India has no right to take a unilateral action about it. We urge India to immediately resume the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Treaty, and fulfil its treaty obligations, wholly and faithfully.' Last week, the PCA said it had previously found that once a proceeding before a court of arbitration is properly initiated, as in the present case, 'there must be a strong presumption against the incidental loss of jurisdiction over the matters placed before it by subsequent acts, such as the appointment of a neutral expert.' Weeks after India's suspension of the treaty, the court issued a procedural order on May 16 and requested the parties to provide written submissions on the effect, if any, of these recent developments before the court. Pakistan filed written submissions and no submissions were filed by India, but the court said it had considered New Delhi's position. 'The current phase of the proceedings before the Court concerns the overall interpretation and application of the Treaty's provisions on hydro-electric project design and operation, as well as the legal effect of past decisions of dispute resolution bodies under the Treaty,' it said. 'Accordingly, the text of the Treaty, read in light of its object and purpose, does not to allow either Party, acting unilaterally, to hold in abeyance or suspend an ongoing dispute settlement process.' Under the IWT, India has been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on the western rivers subject to specific criteria for design and operation. The pact also gives the right to Pakistan to raise objections to designs of Indian hydroelectric projects on the western rivers. On July 6, 2023, the PCA had issued its award on competence after considering India's objections. In a unanimous decision, the court had ruled that it was competent to consider and determine the disputes set forth in Pakistan's request for arbitration in the case. Pakistan had initiated the present arbitral proceedings before the court on August 19, 2016. The South Asian neighbors have been arguing over hydroelectric projects on the shared Indus river and its tributaries for decades, with Pakistan complaining that India's planned hydropower dams will cut flows on the river, which feeds 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture. The PCA noted on Friday that the principal issue concerned the implications, if any, that India's decision to hold the treaty in 'abeyance' may have on the competence of the court. 'Paragraph 16 of Annexure G to the Treaty provides that '[s]ubject to the provisions of this Treaty and except as the Parties may otherwise agree, the Court shall decide all questions relating to its competence',' the PCA said. 'Accordingly, the Court found that it was for the Court — and the Court alone — to answer the question before it.' New Delhi's halting of the water agreement was one of a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures taken by both countries in the immediate aftermath of the April 22 attack in Kashmir, which resulted in a four-day military conflict between the neighbors in May.
Arab News
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
No party can unilaterally suspend India-Pakistan Indus Waters Treaty, Court of Arbitration says
ISLAMABAD: The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on Friday issued a supplemental award in the Indus waters arbitration case and said no party could unilaterally suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between Pakistan and India. India announced it was putting the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, in abeyance a day after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan, an allegation Islamabad denies. Pakistan has previously said the treaty has no provision for one side to unilaterally pull back and that any blocking of river water flowing to Pakistan will be considered 'an act of war.' In light of the developments, the PCA issued a procedural order on May 16, 2025 and requested the parties to provide written submissions on the effect, if any, of these recent developments on matters before the court, including their respective competence. Pakistan filed written submissions and no submissions were filed by India, but the court said it had considered New Delhi's position. 'The Court first considered the terms of the Treaty, which do not provide for the unilateral 'abeyance' or 'suspension' of the Treaty; rather, according to its terms, the Treaty continues in force until terminated with the mutual consent of India and Pakistan,' the PCA said on Friday. 'The Court found that the terms of the Treaty, read in light of the Treaty's object and purpose, do not allow either Party, acting unilaterally, to hold in abeyance or suspend an ongoing dispute settlement process, given that to do so would fundamentally undermine 'the value and efficacy of the Treaty's compulsory third-party dispute settlement process'.' The IWT grants Pakistan rights to the Indus basin's western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — for irrigation, drinking, and non-consumptive uses like hydropower, while India controls the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — for unrestricted use but must not significantly alter their flow. India can use the western rivers for limited purposes such as power generation and irrigation, without storing or diverting large volumes, according to the agreement. On July 6, 2023, the PCA had issued its award on competence after considering India's objections. In a unanimous decision, the court had ruled that it was competent to consider and determine the disputes set forth in Pakistan's request for arbitration in the case. Pakistan had initiated the present arbitral proceedings before the court on August 19, 2016. The South Asian neighbors have been arguing over hydroelectric projects on the shared Indus River and its tributaries for decades, with Pakistan complaining that India's planned hydropower dams will cut flows on the river which feeds 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture. The PCA noted on Friday that the principal issue concerned the implications, if any, that India's decision to hold the treaty in 'abeyance' may have on the competence of the court. 'Paragraph 16 of Annexure G to the Treaty provides that '[s]ubject to the provisions of this Treaty and except as the Parties may otherwise agree, the Court shall decide all questions relating to its competence',' the PCA said. 'Accordingly, the Court found that it was for the Court— and the Court alone — to answer the question before it.' New Delhi's halting the water agreement was one of a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures taken by both countries in the immediate aftermath of the April 22 attack in Kashmir, which resulted in a four-day military conflict between the neighbors in May. The Pakistani government welcomed the supplemental award by the PCA in the IWT case. 'Pakistan welcomes the Supplemental Award by the Court of Arbitration in the Indus Waters matter that has been handed down today and made public on the website of the Permanent Court of Arbitration,' it said in an X post on Friday. 'Pakistan notes that the Court has affirmed its Competence in the light of recent developments and that unilateral action by India cannot deprive either the Court or the Neutral Expert... of their competence to adjudicate the issues before them.' Islamabad said the priority at this point was for India and Pakistan to find a way back to a meaningful dialogue, including on the application of the Indus Waters Treaty. Pakistan is 'ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, water, trade and terrorism,' it said, quoting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's comments earlier this week.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
China's military conducts patrols in South China Sea, warns Philippines
BEIJING (Reuters) -China's military held joint sea and air patrols in the South China Sea on Saturday, a spokesperson for the People's Liberation Army's Southern Theater Command said. Spokesperson Tian Junli said in a statement on Sunday that the Philippines has courted countries outside the region to organise "joint patrols" and "raised security risks" in the region. "The theater command forces remain on high alert, resolutely safeguarding China's national sovereignty and maritime rights," he said, adding that "all military activities that seek to stir up trouble in the South China Sea or create flashpoints are fully under control." The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. The Philippines and the United States conducted joint maritime drills in the South China Sea for a seventh time earlier this month. Tensions have continued to run high between China and the Philippines over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. In 2016 the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled that China's claims were not supported by international law, a decision that Beijing rejects.
