Ambassador Eddy Pratomo Died, Here is the Explanation of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Regarding the Nomination of the ITLOS Judge

Spokesperson II for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vahd Nabyl A Mulachela. (Abi/Infomed/Kemlu RI)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will evaluate the nomination of Indonesian judges at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), following the death of Ambassador Eddy Pratomo, ensuring that it will continue to fight for efforts to advance the interests of island countries.

Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson II Vahd Nabyl A. Mulachela said the nomination of the late Ambassador Eddy as a judge at ITLOS was part of Indonesia's efforts as an island nation to take a role.

"Indonesia has nominated Professor Eddy in the context of Indonesia as an island country that has a great interest in being able to play a role," Nabyl explained in a press statement at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, Thursday (30/4).

"This nomination is a representative of developing countries, especially in Southeast Asia. Since the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, Indonesia has never held a judge's position in the institution," he continued.

Ambassador, Professor of Law of the Sea and international law expert Ambassador Professor Dr. Eddy Pratomo SH, MA. breathed his last at the Mandaya Hospital Puri, Wednesday (29/4) at around 08:00 WIB.

Last year, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Arif Havas Oegroseno announced the nomination of Professor Eddy as a judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for the 2026-2035 term.

At that time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Havas explained that Professor Eddy's candidacy was inseparable from Indonesia as a state party to the international law of the sea convention UNCLOS 1982. However, since ITLOS was established in the same year, Indonesia has never had a judge sitting in the international maritime law court.

Ambassador Eddy Pratomo himself, when asked about his nomination at that time, said that the representation of Indonesia's view as the largest archipelago in the world and a very wide sea, was important to be conveyed in ITLOS.

Professor Eddy explained, Indonesia is a large country in the maritime sector, with two-thirds of its territory being the sea, and has the principle of an island nation.

He explained, Indonesia's position in the border line negotiations with neighboring countries, the way to withdraw the line using archipelagic baselines. Unlike non-archipelago countries.

"The representation of Indonesian views, in my opinion, needs to contribute this thinking to ITLOS," he explained in a press statement at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, Friday, May 9, 2025.

According to him, Indonesia wants to contribute to the creation of an advisory opinion (on international maritime law).

He said that although ITLOS is relatively less well-known than the International Court of Justice (ICJ), it handles about 30 cases of disputes between countries. Later, ITLOS has a correlation with the current situation. Last year, ITLOS delivered an advisory opinion on climate change, sea level rise.

According to him, ITLOS must become a think-tank in the field of maritime legal problems. All negotiations, all maritime affairs, already have their constitution.

"The Basic Law at ITLOS is UNCLOS (1982), we are a party to UNCLOS and we are an island country, we have a special chapter, Chapter IV in UNCLOS on island countries," he said.

He added that if elected, he will later represent the Asia Pacific region which has about 4-5 judges in ITLOS. There are a total of 21 judges from around the world, including Latin America, Europe, America, Africa and Asia Pacific.

"We will continue to fight for Indonesia's efforts to advance our interests as an island nation," explained Nabyl.

"We will hold an internal evaluation regarding the nomination," he added.