TT: Barbados loses first round of fishy oil dispute

BRIDGETOWN -The first ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration dealing with the controversial maritime boundary dispute between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago has gone in favour of this country.

But Barbados Attorney General Mia Mottley said yesterday that "it is only one of procedural issues and would not affect the substance or merit of the case" pertaining to the dispute.

The five-member tribunal, established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), has unanimously ruled against Barbados's request for the "simultaneous" presentation of written pleadings by both parties.