Birthdays, cakes and puns – journalist and friend Molly Quell came in to talk about the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).  She unpacks for us a dispute between the Maldives and Mauritius over their maritime boundaries in the Indian Ocean.

And Douglas Guilfoyle Professor of International Law and Security at UNSW Canberra provides the ballast; the history of this tribunal, rules about archipelagos and all the nitty-gritty of this dispute.

Why are we interested? Well these boundaries between the Maldives and Mauritius include the Chagos archipelago. And if you’ve been listening, the International Court of Justice unequivocally said that Chagos belongs to Mauritius. If you haven’t, check out our podcast with lawyer Philippe Sands discussing returning the territory to its population after a long history of exploitation by the United Kingdom.

To follow the court case, Molly travelled to ITLOS headquarters in Hamburg on her birthday, which coincidentally enough she shares with lawyer Philippe Sands. She explains all the latest developments in the case. After we talked with Molly public hearings continued.

Molly also gives us a taste of the atmosphere in the courtroom, the collection of international maritime lawyers and the tribunal that has more judges than most, but nearly all part-time. And most important, she brings us all the fun side of being in court: ketchup comparisons and “condimental” puns.

Molly is staying on topic with her reads – the Last Colony by Philippe Sands. But she is also celebrating the recent past Halloween to read the supernatural thriller The Fervor by Alma Katsu. Listen till the end to see how much that can still be related to international law.