WHEREAS the Kingdom of the Netherlands (“the Netherlands”) has invoked Article 287 and Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“Convention”) with regard to a dispute concerning the boarding and detention of the vessel Arctic Sunrise in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation (“Russia”) and the detention of the persons on board the vessel by the Russian authorities, as set out in the Notification and Statement of the Claim and the Grounds on Which it is Based submitted by the Netherlands to Russia on 4 October 2013;

WHEREAS by Note Verbale dated 22 October 2013, Russia notified the Dutch Embassy in Moscow that Russia “does not accept the arbitration procedure under Annex VII to the . . . Convention proposed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in relation to the case of ‘Arctic Sunrise’”;

WHEREAS in accordance with Article 3 of Annex VII to the Convention, by 10 January 2014 the Arbitral Tribunal composed of Mr. Henry Burmester, Professor Alfred Soons, Professor Janusz Symonides, Dr. Alberto Székely, and Judge Thomas Mensah (President) was constituted;

WHEREAS Article 5 of Annex VII to the Convention provides that “[u]nless the parties to the dispute otherwise agree, the arbitral tribunal shall determine its own procedure, assuring to each party a full opportunity to be heard and to present its case”;

WHEREAS on 11 February 2013, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, acting on behalf of the Arbitral Tribunal, sent Draft Rules of Procedure to the Parties and invited the Parties’ written comments;