The Center of International Law (Centre de droit international) of Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 will host a symposium, entitled, Les ports face au défi du changement climatique, 4 February 2025, at Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 (Lyon, France). For more information and registration see here.
Monthly Archives: January 2025
MLC: 2022 Amendments Enter into Force
On 23 December 2024, the Amendments of 2022 to the Code of the Maritime Labour Convention entered into force at the international level. The amendments “aim at further improving working and living conditions at sea and address some of the key challenges faced by seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic”. Amendments address the international standards concerning (1) recruitment and placement, (2) repatriation, (3) accommodation and recreational facilities, including social connectivity, (4) food and catering, (5) medical care on board ship and ashore, (6) health and safety protection and accident prevention, and (7) evidence of financial security.
Filed under Treaties
ILO/ISA: Cooperation Framework Agreement on Protection of Human Life and Workers’ Rights
On 19 December 2024 the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) signed the Agreement between the International Labour Organization and the International Seabed Authority, a cooperation framework agreement (Art 1) to address the protection of human life and workers’ rights in seabed-related activities:
Article 2: Scope of Cooperation
2.1. In pursuing their cooperation within the framework of this Agreement, the Parties shall:
2.1.1. Consult, where appropriate and practical, on matters of mutual interest with a view to promoting or enhancing a better understanding and coordination of their respective activities, responsibilities and mandates. The date and form of such joint consultations will be agreed between the Parties.
2.1.2. Collaborate to the extent possible on areas of common concern and interest, which include, but are not limited to, decent and sustainable work, the safety of life at sea, and the protection of human life and the rights of workers, including seafarers and other persons involved in activities in the Area.
2.1.3. Cooperate, where appropriate and practical, in undertaking joint research, technical meetings, trainings and other collaborative initiatives, within the scope of each Party’s respective mandate.
The Agreement has been endorsed by the ISA Council and the ILO’s Governing Body and entered into force 19 December 2024 (Art 7(1)). For more information see here.
Filed under International Organizations, Treaties
Workshop: Maritime Boundary Delimitation
The Centre for International Law (CIL) of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) of the University of Wollongong shall host the 2025 edition of their workshop, Maritime Boundary Delimitation, 24-26 February 2025 at NUS (Singapore). For more information see here.
Filed under Courses
WCPFC: Adopts Legally Binding Conservation & Management Measure on Fishing Labour Conditions
The Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), at its 21st Regular Session of the Commission (28 November to 3 December 2024), continued its leadership among regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) by adopting (para 63) the world’s first legally binding conservation and management measure (CMM) addressing labour conditions for crew members onboard authorized fishing vessels: CMM 2024-04 for Labour Standards, which will enter into force 1 January 2028 (para 19, although Members, Participating Territories and Cooperating Non-Members are encouraged to implement measures as soon as possible).
CMM 2024-04 for Labour Standards addresses the crew’s (‘persons of any age on board a fishing vessel’) working conditions, as well as the flag State’s responsibilities in the event of a death, serious injury or illness, crew missing or presumed fallen overboard, or reasonable grounds to believe (a) a crew member’s health and safety is endangered or (b) a crew member has been subjected to forced or compulsory labour and other mistreatment. Port State responsibilities are triggered when the port State is notified by either disembarked crew or the flag State of alleged/possible forced or compulsory labour and other mistreatment (paras 13-14). The State of Nationality, among others, is expected to cooperate and provide support in relation to cases of forced or compulsory labour and other mistreatment on fishing vessels, such as collecting evidence ‘where possible’ (para 15).
This follows initial steps of adopting non-binding resolutions at numerous RFMOs on the path to binding labour standards at the regional level, including WCPFC Resolution 2018-01 On Labour Standards for Crew on Fishing Vessels; NAFO Resolution (1/23) Non-Binding Resolution relating to Core Principles on Labour Standards in NAFO Fisheries; ICCAT Resolution 2023-20 on Core Principles on Labor Standards in ICCAT Fisheries; and 2024 NPFC Resolution on Core Principles on Labor Standards in NPFC Fisheries.
For further information, see the WCPFC’s Provisional Meeting Outcomes and Attachments for the 21st Commission Session, including further actions to incorporate climate change considerations into fisheries conservation and management.
Filed under State Practice
Conference: Life, liberty, and health at sea
SOAS, BIICL, and Basel University will organise a hybrid conference, entitled, Life, liberty, and health at sea, 24 January 2025 at SOAS (London, UK)/Online. This is the public opening event of the COST Action ‘BlueRights’ (CA23103). For more information and registration see here.
Filed under Events
INC on Plastic Pollution: Fifth Session Adjourned
Consistent with the mandate established under para 1 of UNEP Resolution 5/14, the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5) was held 25 November – 1 December 2024, with the ambition of conclude negotiations and finalize the text of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, by the end of 2024.
While progress was made, a finalised text was not achieved and so the session has been suspended and negotiations scheduled to continue in 2025. Some representatives expression concern and disappointment at the limited progress made and some identified reasons for the lack of progress in their opinion (INC-5 Draft Report, paras. 55-59). The session adjourned “with agreement on a ‘Chair’s Text’ that will serve as the starting point for negotiations at a resumed session in 2025″.
Filed under International Organizations, State Practice
UNGA: Adoption of UN Convention Against Cybercrime
On 24 December 2024 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted (by Resolution without a vote) the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime; Strengthening International Cooperation for Combating Certain Crimes Committed by Means of Information and Communications Technology Systems and for the Sharing of Evidence in Electronic Form of Serious Crimes (UN Convention Against Cybercrime) (UN Doc. A/79/460 para 2 and Annex). The UN Convention Against Cybercrime shall be open to all States for signature in Hanoi in 2025 and thereafter at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 31 December 2026 (Art 64(1)).
Jurisdictional responsibilities under the UN Convention Against Cybercrime will extend to ocean governance, include responsibilities to adopt any measures necessary to establish jurisdiction over offences “committed on board a vessel that is flying the flag of that State Party or an aircraft that is registered under the laws of that State Party at the time when the offence is committed” (Art 22(1)(b)). Additional discretionary prescriptive jurisdiction under Art 22(2) may also have application to offences committed at sea. Likewise, “Each State Party shall make the commission of an offence established in accordance with this Convention liable to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions that take into account the gravity of the offence” (Art 21).
A wide range of offences are found in Arts 7-19. Furthermore, one should note Art 4(1) may be of interest concerning other UN treaties that create offenses for identified acts at sea as shared offenses (‘maritime terrorism’) or transnational organized crimes:
“In giving effect to other applicable United Nations conventions and protocols to which they are Parties, States Parties shall ensure that criminal offences established in accordance with such conventions and protocols are also considered criminal offences under domestic law when committed through the use of information and communications technology systems“.
One may also note the preamble references the Parties being “concerned that the use of information and communications technology systems can have a considerable impact on the scale, speed and scope of criminal offences, including offences related to terrorism and transnational organized crime, such as trafficking in persons, the smuggling of migrants, the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts, components and ammunition, drug trafficking and trafficking in cultural property”.
The Ad Hoc Committee shall continue its work with a view to negotiating a draft protocol supplementary to the Convention, addressing, inter alia, additional criminal offences as appropriate (UN Doc. A/79/460 para 5).
Filed under International Organizations, Treaties
UNGA: 2024 Resolutions Adopted on Law of the Sea & Sustainable Fisheries
On 12 December 2024, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted its annual Resolution on Oceans and the law of the sea (currently A/79/L.37) with a vote (152-1-2) and Resolution on Sustainable fisheries, including through the 1995 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, and related instruments (currently A/79/L.38) without a vote. For further information see reporting of the debate.
Note, paragraph 59 and Annex of the 2024 Resolution: Oceans and the Law of the Sea includes an amendment to the Terms of Reference for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Trust Fund, a mechanism which seeks to assist States in the settlement of disputes through the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The former ‘panel of experts’ tasked with reviewing and making recommendations concerning any application for assistance from the Fund has been replaced with an ‘independent panel’. Key differences include: (1) the composition of the panel (from ‘three persons of the highest professional standing’ selected by the Secretary-General, to ‘the Chairs of the United Nations regional groups for the month on which the panel is convened’) and (2) a now discretionary process (from ‘will establish’ to ‘may engage’ a panel).
Filed under International Organizations
Ecuador: marine-coastal ecosystems upheld as rights holders by Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court of Ecuador (Corte Constitucional del Ecuador) issued on November 28, 2024 a landmark decision in Case 95-20-IN. The Court dismissed a claim of unconstitutionality against Article 104 of the Organic Law for the Development of Aquaculture and Fishing (Ley Orgánica para el Desarrollo de la Acuicultura y Pesca, or LODAP). The article establishes an 8-mile coastal zone exclusive to artisanal fisheries, a move contested by members of the industrial fishing sector.
The claimants argued that the contested regulation was incompatible with the right to comprehensive nature conservation and the rights of nature to restoration, asserting that it established an exclusive 8-mile zone for artisanal fishing that limited the authority to implement necessary management measures to protect resources. They contended that the rigid zoning failed to allow adjustments based on scientific evidence, potentially leading to anthropogenic disasters and species extinction, and conflicted with the State’s obligation to implement precautionary measures. The claimants also emphasized that the State must ensure natural cycles and functions through technically supported, sustainable fishing regulations, which they believed the contested regulation failed to achieve.
The Court upheld the 8-mile zone exclusively for artisanal fishing, ruling it consistent with constitutional principles, including the rights of marine-coastal ecosystems, the principle of prevention, and the right to economic activities. It recognized the zoning as a legislative policy grounded in scientific data, aimed at protecting nature, human bioconnected rights, and the artisanal fishing economy. The Court also emphasized that decisions on modifying the zone’s extent are technical matters for the legislature, not within its jurisdiction to evaluate. Overall, the Court concluded that, in abstract terms, the contested provision aligns with constitutional principles, recognizing en passant that marine-coastal ecosystems are holders of rights:
50. Este Organismo no puede dejar de observar la interdependencia que existe entre el derecho de los ecosistemas marinos-costeros de respeto integral a su existencia y la regeneración de los ciclos vitales de las especies que habitan en ellos con su equilibrio ecológico, así como con la vida en armonía con la naturaleza. En esta línea, la protección de estos ecosistemas no solo resulta fundamental a fin de preservar un espacio para la reproducción y desarrollo de los elementos que habitan en ellos. Al contrario, la justificación de esta protección radica en el compromiso de “construir una nueva forma de convivencia ciudadana, en diversidad y armonía con la naturaleza […]”. Aquello, implica la posibilidad de limitar actividades antrópicas con el objetivo de velar por el equilibrio de las cadenas tróficas.
55. Los ecosistemas marinos-costeros son titulares de los derechos reconocidos a la naturaleza. Esta protección, al igual que otros derechos constitucionales, encuentra sus límites. La propia Constitución prevé la posibilidad de que se realicen actividades pesqueras. Sin embargo, estas deben estar reguladas para que sean sostenibles y respeten los ciclos, funciones, estructuras y procesos evolutivos de los ecosistemas marino-costeros, así como su conservación y restauración, a fin de velar por los derechos de la naturaleza y el equilibrio de las cadenas tróficas. De ahí que se establezcan tipos de pesca, espacios para realizarla y zonas de conservación de acuerdo con las características de dichos ecosistemas.
63. Bajo esta consideración, la autoridad competente, al emitir las resoluciones correspondientes, tiene la obligación de garantizar que las actividades pesqueras en esta zona no vulneren los derechos de este ecosistema. Por lo tanto, debe realizar un ejercicio estricto al verificar el cumplimiento de requisitos constitucionales, legales e infralegales y anticipar la responsabilidad que podría implicar la emisión de directrices que impliquen vulneraciones de derechos constitucionales por no haber adoptado las previsiones necesarias.
This decision has the practical effect of recognizing that the Ecuadorian Constitutional Rights of Nature, as enshrined in the Chapter 7 of the Constitution of Ecuador (Articles 71-74), also apply to its maritime domain.
The complete version of this decision is available in Spanish on the website of the Court.
Filed under Jurisprudence
2025 Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy
The 2025 session of the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy has been scheduled for 22 June – 11 July 2025. The deadline to submit an application is 22 April 2025. For more information, fees and application documents please see here. The Academy has a small number of extremely competitive scholarships available that are offered based on high academic merit and financial need. An International Cable Protection Committee Writing Award is also usually offered, the winner of which is awarded a full scholarship to the Rhodes Academy.
Filed under Courses
ITLOS – Nippon Foundation Capacity Building and Training Programme 2025-2026
The ITLOS-Nippon Foundation Capacity-Building and Training Programme on Dispute Settlement under UNCLOS, July 2025 – March 2026, to be held at ITLOS (Hamburg, Germany), is welcoming applications until 6 March 2025. For more information see the flyer and website.
Programme TIDM–Nippon Foundation de renforcement des capacités et de formation 2025-2026
Les personnes intéressées au Programme TIDM-Nippon Foundation de renforcement des capacités et de formation en matière de règlement des différends relatifs à la Convention des Nations Unies sur le droit de la mer, qui se tiendra au TIDM (Hambourg, Allemagne) de juillet 2025 à mars 2026, sont invitées à soumettre leur candidature jusqu’au 6 mars 2025. Pour de plus amples informations, veuillez consulter la brochure et le site Internet.
Filed under Courses
De Maribus 