Why it is in the news
On 1 October 2026, Indian jurist Dr Bimal N. Patel took the oath as a Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) at its seat in Hamburg, Germany, beginning a nine-year term. He succeeds Neeru Chadha, whose term ended on 30 September 2026, keeping an Indian on the Tribunal's bench.
The exam angle
Issue: UNCLOS's compulsory dispute settlement is central to a rules-based maritime order, but its authority depends on State compliance and on the composition and reach of bodies like ITLOS.