\\\'Verdict may go in favour of us\\\'

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that she is hopeful for a positive verdict in favour of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal maritime boundary dispute with India. ‘Like Myanmar, I hope that the verdict will go in favour of Bangladesh,’ Sheikh Hasina remarked while addressing a programme marking the National Fisheries Week 2014 in the city. The Netherlands-based UN Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was due to announce the verdict on maritime boundary dispute between Bangladesh and India last month. On December 18, 2013, the United Nations Convention of the Law of the sea (UNCLOS) Tribunal in Haque concluded hearing on the Bangladesh-India maritime boundary dispute. Official sources said the much-awaited verdict of Bay of Bengal maritime boundary delimitation dispute with India was expected on Wednesday. Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said after three years of arbitration, they were also hopeful for a positive verdict in favour of Bangladesh. Though Dhaka has not yet received any official confirmation from the Arbitral Tribunal about the date of verdict in the Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary Arbitration between Bangladesh and India, it is understood that the verdict would be announced within six months from the date of end of the hearing at the tribunal, sources said. According to the rules of procedure of the Hague-based PCA, ‘the tribunal shall endeavour to render its Award within six months of the close of the proceedings.’ Earlier, Bangladesh won an arbitration case against Myanmar over the maritime dispute in the Bay of Bengal in 2012 at the International Tribunal for the Law of Sea in Hamburg, Germany. When contacted, the Bangladesh ambassador to the Netherlands has said the verdict has been deferred. But he did not elaborate on the matter, according to a news agency.