Decision ID: 000888

In April 1998 the 1971 Fund Executive Committee considered the admissibility of claims by the members of a Village Fishery Association (VFA) who had been fishing common fishing grounds without holding a valid license, although such a license was required under the Korean Fishery Act. The Committee noted that the VFA had previously held a license which had expired before the incident and that the Chief of the VFA had not renewed the license, since he had mistakenly believed that there was no legal requirement to have a license. The Committee considered that the lack of a valid license was due to an oversight by the Chief of the VFA and that it was clear that a license would have been granted if an application had been made. The Committee therefore decided that the claims by the members of the VFA were admissible in principle.