Decision ID: 000886
In April 1998 the 1971 Fund Executive Committee considered the admissibility of claims by the members of five Village Fishery Associations (VFAs) who had been fishing common fishing grounds without holding valid licenses, although such licenses were required under the Korean Fishery Act. The Committee noted that the VFAs were involved in border disputes and were unable to obtain licenses while the disputes were pending, although the members of the VFAs had been fishing the grounds without prosecution by the authorities. Since it was clear that licenses would be granted when the disputes were resolved, and in the light of the opinion of the Fund’s Korean lawyer that these unlicensed VFAs did not contravene the main purpose of the Fishery Act, the Committee decided that the claims by the members of these five VFAs were admissible in principle.