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Chagos Islands: Sovereignty

Asked by Priti PatelConservativeForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled Answered 8 May 2025UIN 47649

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution by the then Minister for Development on 26 February 2025, Official Report, column 873, who the 28 international judges and arbitrators are; and in (a) what context and (b) which institutions those opinions were given.

Answered by Stephen Doughty

As well as the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion in 2019, an Arbitral Tribunal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 2015 and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in 2021 have considered the sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago. None have expressed support for a United Kingdom claim to sovereignty.

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