UNCLOS provides for four alternative means for the settlement of disputes: the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the International Court of Justice, an arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VII to the Convention, and a special arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VIII to the Convention. States may choose one or more of these means by a written declaration to be made under article 287 of the Convention and deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. A table of declarations by States is available on the UN's Law of the Sea website.
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is an independent judicial body established by UNCLOS to adjudicate disputes and provide advisory opinions arising out of the interpretation and application of the Convention.
The following e-books provide detailed information about ITLOS:
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: Law, Practice and Procedure by 
The Contentious and Advisory Jurisdiction of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea by The first ITLOS case was The M/V "SAIGA" Case (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines v. Guinea) in 1997.
These judgments and orders are reproduced in the series Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders ('ITLOS Reports'). ITLOS Reports should be used for citation purposes. ITLOS Report citations for all cases are available on:
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea - Pleadings, Minutes of Public Sittings and Documents / Mémoires, procès-verbaux des audiences publiques et documents are available on: