Reasonableness of the Bond under Article 292 of the LOS Convention: Practice of the ITLOS

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea plays an importantrole in the formation of the rules concerning the reasonablenessof the bond in the prompt release proceedings under the LOSConvention. In order to strike a balance between the interestsof the flag State and the detaining State, the amount of thebond should not be unrelated to the gravity of the alleged offences,and it should be able to secure the enforcement of the judgmentof the domestic court on the merits of the case after the releaseof the detained vessel and its crew. Thus, the penalties imposableunder the laws of the detaining State should be taken sufficientaccount of. The gravity of the alleged offences may be evaluatedby reference to the facts and circumstances of the particularcase.