SOAS University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies) is seeking for a postdoctoral researcher. The successful applicant shall conduct critical research on the development of the concept of freedom of the seas in early international law (XV-XVII centuries) and its linkages with individual freedom and slavery. This research will contribute to the successful implementation of the project “Freedom of the Seas and Human Rights Protection”, funded by the British Academy. Closing date for applications is 26 October 2023. Further information here.
Author Archives: N.F. Coelho
Treaties: Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships open for signature
Adopted by the General Assembly on 7 December 2022 (see UN General Assembly resolution 77/100) , the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships, also known as the “Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships”, was signed by 15 countries in the opening of the signature process on 5 September 2023 (see Status here and UN press release here).
The treaty establishes a harmonized regime for giving international effect to judicial sales, while preserving domestic law governing the procedure of judicial sales and the circumstances in which judicial sales confer clean title. By ensuring legal certainty as to the title that the purchaser acquires in the ship as it navigates internationally, the Convention is designed to maximize the price that the ship is able to attract in the market and the proceeds available for distribution among creditors, and to promote international trade. An Explanatory Note prepared by the UNCITRAL Secretariat may be found here.
Filed under Treaties
Events: Floating Offshore Wind Permitting – ‘Norway / Portugal’
The University of Oslo, Department of Energy and Resources Law, and the Catholic University of Portugal, in collaboration with the NorthWind Research Centre, are hosting a webinar on floating offshore wind permitting: comparative approach between Norway and Portugal. The event is focused on the bilateral contacts that have taken place during 2023, both at an official level and a commercial level. To complete the exchange of views across jurisdictions, the organizers seek to provide an academic perspective to the current design of floating offshore wind auctions and permitting rules. The event take place 7 September 2023, and further information may be found here.
Filed under Events
Calls/Events: IHO 11th ABLOS conference
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)’s Advisory Board on the Law of the Sea (ABLOS) is hosting its 11th conference in Monaco on 11-12 October 2023 (with an ice-breaker event on the evening of 10 October 2023). The meeting’s theme is Ocean Geosciences: From the Past Century to the Future Decade. Topics of interest will include both legal and technical aspect of the international law of the sea including concerning the definition of baselines along the coast, the delineation of the outer limits to zones of maritime jurisdiction including outer continental shelf limits seawards of 200 nautical miles from baselines along the coast, overlapping claims and maritime boundary disputes as well as recent efforts in maritime boundary dispute resolution.
Deadline to submit abstracts is 15 September 2023. The organizers welcome papers devoted to climate change impacts on oceans and coasts, including global sea level rise, and the implications of emerging technologies on law of the sea issues; other proposed papers engaging with contemporary developments at the interface of legal and technical considerations in the international law of the sea are also welcome. More information is available at the event’s webpage.
Calls: CUPL/UWI symposium on new developments of international law of the sea
The School of International Law, China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) in Beijing, China and the Faculty of Law, Cave Hill Campus, The University of West Indies (UWI) in Bridgetown, Barbados are proposing to co-host an international symposium on new developments of international law of the sea on 25 November 2023 in Beijing, China.
Abstracts (of 500 words maximum) may be sent to lawofseacupl@163.com no later than 1 September 2023 and should be accompanied by a short CV. Successful applicants will be notified of the result no later than 7 September 2023. Full papers need to be submitted to the foregoing email address no later than 7 November 2023. A limited number of successful applicants will be financially supported to speak in the symposium.
ICJ: Question of the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 Nautical Miles from the Nicaraguan Coast (Nicaragua v. Colombia) judgment delivered
The International Court of Justice handed down on 13 July 2023 its Judgment in the case concerning Question of the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 Nautical Miles from the Nicaraguan Coast (Nicaragua v. Colombia). In the Application instituting proceedings, filed in September 2013, Nicaragua requested the Court to delimit the boundaries between, on the one hand, the continental shelf of Nicaragua beyond the 200-nautical-mile limit from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of Nicaragua is measured and, on the other hand, the continental shelf of Colombia (see previous post).
In the operative clause of its Judgment, the Court:
1) Rejects the request made by the Republic of Nicaragua that the Court adjudge and declare that the maritime boundary between the Republic of Nicaragua and the Republic of Colombia in the areas of the continental shelf which, according to the Republic of Nicaragua, appertain to each of them beyond the boundary determined by the Court in its Judgment of 19 November 2012 [in the case concerning Territorial and Maritime Dispute (Nicaragua v. Colombia)] follows geodetic lines connecting the points 1 to 8, the co-ordinates of which are referred to in paragraph 19 [of the Judgment];
2) Rejects the request made by the Republic of Nicaragua that the Court adjudge and declare that the islands of San Andrés and Providencia are entitled to a continental shelf up to a line consisting of 200-nautical-mile arcs from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of Nicaragua is measured connecting the points A, C and B, the co-ordinates of which are referred to in paragraph 19 [of the Judgment];
3) Rejects the request made by the Republic of Nicaragua with respect to the maritime entitlements of Serranilla and Bajo Nuevo.
The text of the Judgment, the summary and the court’s press release may be found here.
Filed under Jurisprudence
Courses: Law of the Sea and Palestine-Israel
NGO Law for Palestine (L4P), together with academic partners Centro interdipartimentale di Ricerca sull’Adriatico e il Mediterraneo (CiRAM) of the University of Macerata (Italy), the International Centre for Ocean Governance (ICOG) of the Western Sydney University (Australia), the Brazilian Institute for the Law of the Sea (BILOS) (Brazil), the National Center for the Sea and Maritime Law (DEHUKAM) of the Ankara University (Türkiye), and with the association ASCOMARE, is organizing a High Level Online Training Course on the Law of the Sea and Palestine-Israel. The workshops will benefit from the active participation and contribution of Law of the Sea academics and practitioners, including experts from Palestine, Egypt and Lebanon. The initiative will contribute to building capacity and knowledge-sharing among Palestinian and international scholars and researchers with the view of filling the institutional gap existing in Palestinian Universities with regard to the teaching of the Law of the Sea and related matters. The course will run from July 17 to August 7. Registration deadline is July 15, 2023. More information is available here.
Filed under Courses
IMO: Hong Kong Convention to enter into force
The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships is set to enter into force after Bangladesh and Liberia became Contracting States to the Convention. The treaty was set to enter into force 24 months after the following required criteria have been met: not less than 15 States; not less than 40% of the world’s merchant shipping by gross tonnage; and ship recycling capacity of not less than 3% of the gross tonnage of the combined merchant shipping of those States. These conditions have now been met and the Hong Kong Convention will enter into force on 26 June 2025. See further in IMO press release.
Filed under International Organizations, Treaties
Courses: Philippine International Law of the Sea Academy 2023
The Ateneo Society of International Law announced the launch of the Philippine International Law of the Sea Academy. The course consists of an intensive 24-hour training course on the law of the sea comprising 12 modules. The course takes place July 1-16, 2023. Registration is open until 28 June 2023. Further information is available here; the primer of the event can be found here.
Filed under Courses
EU: 11th package of sanctions against Russia (transport measures)
The European Union (EU) announced in 23 June 2023 the adoption of the 11th package of sanctions against Russia for its continued illegal war against Ukraine. Aside from measures on trade, the EU is also imposing measures applicable to vessels and reliant on its Member States’ port State jurisdiction:
- Prohibition to access EU ports for vessels that engage in ship-to-ship transfers suspected to be in breach of the Russian oil import ban or G7 Coalition price cap.
- Prohibition to access EU ports for vessels if a vessel does not notify the competent authority at least 48 hours in advance about a ship-to-ship transfer occurring within the Exclusive Economic Zone of a Member State or within 12 nautical miles from the baseline of that Member State’s coast.
- Prohibition to access EU ports for vessels which manipulate or turn off their navigation tracking system when transporting Russian oil subject to the oil import ban or G7 price cap.
A summary of the full list of sanctions of this package may be found in this press release from the European Commission.
Filed under International Organizations, State Practice
Norway: recommendation on continental shelf mineral works approved
The Government of Norway approved (20 June 2023) and published a recommendation on mineral works on the Norwegian continental shelf. The recommendation proposes to open parts of the Norwegian continental shelf for commercial seabed mineral activities. The Government’s white paper may be found here, together with supporting studies and impact assessment. Before an area can be opened for mineral activities, an opening process must be carried out; this process was initiated by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in 2020. The Act relating to mineral activities on the Norwegian continental shelf – the Seabed Minerals Act – entered into force on 1 July 2019.
Filed under State Practice
Calls/Events: mediation in maritime disputes
The University of Coimbra (Portugal) is hosting the final symposium of the project MediMARE: Mediation in Maritime Disputes. The organizers welcome interdisciplinary and international approaches such as: legal analysis of maritime mediation and its implications; social and political analysis of the mediation mechanism related to maritime activities; diagnosis on current situation and building innovative solutions at the legal and social policies levels; relevance and/or experience of maritime mediation in particular fields, such as (but not limited to) insurance, labor relations, contractual relations, environmental disputes. The symposium will be conducted in a hybrid format on 30 June and 1 July 2023 at the University of Coimbra (Portugal). Deadline to submit paper proposals is 2 June 2023. The call can be found here.
Events: L’obligation des États de protéger et préserver le milieu marin
The Institut du Droit Economique de la Mer (INDEMER) is organizing an international symposium on the obligation of States to protect and preserve the marine environment. The event is set to happen 12-13 May 2023 in Monaco. More information is available here (in French).
Filed under Events
ITLOS: The M/T “Heroic Idun” (No. 2) Case
A special chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea was formed to deal with “the dispute concerning the M/T “Heroic Idun” and her crew” between the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (Order 2023/2 of 27 April 2023). The Parties agreed to transfer the arbitral proceedings instituted by the Marshall Islands under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to a special chamber of the Tribunal to be constituted pursuant to article 15, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the Tribunal. See ITLOS Press Release 335. See also the press release from the Government of Equatorial Guinea (here). The context of the case leading to this transfer of proceedings can be found in previous De Maribus reports here, and here.
Filed under Jurisprudence
Events: Öresund International Law Workshop
The 5th Öresund International Law Workshop will take place at Lund University Faculty of Law on 13 June 2023. This edition shall address the topic of ‘International Law and Attachment’. The workshop is co-organised by international law researchers at Lund University Faculty of Law, the World Maritime University-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute, and the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Law. The full programme and registration information are available here.
Filed under Events
Events: ILA Paris 150 – Ocean
The International Law Association (ILA) is hosting a webinar to discuss the White Paper on the Ocean. This event is taking place on 25 April 2023, within the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the association. The document may be read here; registration is open here.
Filed under Events
Events: Deep Seabed Mining and the International Seabed Authority
The Geneva Graduate Institute, the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS Potsdam) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are hosting an event entitled Deep Seabed Mining and the International Seabed Authority. The main objective of the proposed event is to sensitise the topic of deep seabed mining to a broader audience, including discussing the mandate and ongoing work of the ISA, alongside the many associated concerns and tensions among member states and stakeholders. This event will provide an overview of the state-of-the-art at the ISA, including the accelerated regulatory process and implications of the two-year rule at the ISA amidst growing opposition to deep seabed mining, as the deadline of July 2023 approaches. This event will take place in Geneva (Switzerland) on 3 May 2023. Further information is available here.
Filed under Events
Events: Direito do Mar
The Faculty of Law at the University of Lisbon is hosting a conference entitled “Direito do Mar” (Law of the Sea). This event will include presentations on the teaching and history of the law of the sea in Portugal, maritime spaces and conflict resolution. It will also include a panel featuring experiences of practicioners. The event takes place on 27 Abril 2023 in Lisbon (Portugal). More information can be found here (in Portuguese).
Filed under Events
Calls/Events: The Future of Law in the Age of Disruptive Technology
The Faculty of Law at the University of Antwerp has launched a call for abstracts for the upcoming Conference on the Platform Economy and Transport Law. This event will take place on 21-22 September 2023 in Antwerp, Belgium. The theme of the conference is “Law in the Age of Disruptive Technology- Navigating the Platform Economy and Transport Law”. The organizers accept contributions that address legal responses to disruptive technology, including autonomous maritime transport. Deadline to submit abstracts is 31 May 2023. More information is available in this call and in this poster.
Calls/Events: Innovating for Change in Global Fisheries Governance
The Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea at the Arctic University of Norway is holding a workshop entitled ‘Innovating for Change in Global Fisheries Governance’. This workshop builds on a previous workshop with the same title, held in Tromsø in September 2016, the proceedings of which were published in a special section of the Marine Policy journal (Volume 84, 2017). The organizers welcome papers on innovations in relation to: environmental challenges (e.g. relationship between fisheries and climate change, pollution, etc.), technical challenges (e.g. vessel/gear technologies, standards, data collection, and monitoring & enforcement), human challenges (e.g. vulnerable human groups, equitable approaches, and small-scale fisheries) and new legal developments (e.g. the BBNJ treaty). Deadline for submission of abstracts is 31 May 2023. More information is available here.
Calls: Montée du niveau de la mer et infrastructures portuaires / Sea level rise and port infrastructure
Scholars from French and Canadian universities are calling for contributions to an edited volume (in French or in English) on legal challenges for port infrastructures associated with sea level rise. The proposed book would have four sections: definition of “ports and maritime infrastructures” and privatization at sea; environmental risks and responsibilities; industrial, logistic and economc risks; the competence of public entities in the prevention and management of risks in ports. Deadline for submission of proposals is 31 May 2023. More information can be found here (French) or here (English).
Filed under Calls
USA: Withdrawal of Certain Areas off the United States Arctic Coast of the Outer Continental Shelf from Oil or Gas Leasing
The President of the United States of America announced a decision (13 March 2023) to withdraw from disposition by oil or gas leasing for a time period without specific expiration the areas designated as the Beaufort Planning Area of the Outer Continental Shelf. According to the memorandum published by the White House, the withdrawal prevents consideration of withdrawn areas for any future oil or gas leasing for purposes of exploration, development, or production, but nothing in this withdrawal affects rights under existing leases in the withdrawn areas. The Memorandum for the Secretary of the Interior is available here. This comes after the U.S. Interior Department issued a Record of Decision regarding the proposed Willow Master Development Plan in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (source).
Filed under State Practice
Calls: Brazilian Journal of International Law (Special Issue)
The Brazilian Journal of International Law invites submissions for a special issue on “Oil spill Prevention and Response: national, international and comparative perspectives” to be published in December 2023. In the backdrop of the 2019 Northeast Brazil Oil Spill, this call aims to look into innovative solutions for addressing environmental, social and economic issues caused by accidental oil spills caused by ships from an international, national and comparative perspective. The call is open to papers examining a variety of civil, administrative, criminal and international legal issues regarding oil spills, such as: 1) Prevention and reparation of vessel-source pollution; 2) Safety management of offshore oil and gas operations; 3) Assessing economic loss caused by oil spill disasters; 4) Ecologic compensation in case of oil spill disasters; 5) Area Based Management Tools (including Marine Protected Areas, other effective area-based conservation measures and Marine spatial planning). The deadline for submission is 31 July 2023. More information is available here.
UN: negotiations on BBNJ Agreement concluded
On 4 March 2023, the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), successfully concluded negotiations on a new international agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. The BBNJ Agreement is the culmination of discussions that began in 2004 under the auspices of the United Nations to enhance the international legal regime concerning the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in the oceans beyond the exclusive economic zones and continental shelves of states. The BBNJ Agreement covers access to and use of marine genetic resources; the adoption of conservation and sustainable use measures and the conduct of environmental impact assessments in the maritime areas beyond national jurisdiction; and capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology. The draft (advanced, unedited, pending paragraph renumbering) may be found here.
Filed under International Organizations, Treaties
Calls/Events: The Protection of Vulnerable People at Sea
The Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law is inviting abstract submissions for a one-and-a-half-day in-person workshop, funded by the Society of Legal Scholars. The event is to be held from 17 May to 18 May 2023 at Swansea University, Wales (U.K.). A first aim of the workshop is to reflect on the existing international legal framework applicable to the protection of vulnerable people at sea, to identify any gaps and deficiencies contained therein. Connected to this, the workshop will explore how such gaps and weaknesses in the two main branches of the law relating to the protection of vulnerable people at sea (i.e., human rights law and the law of the sea) could be remedied. The deadline for submitting abstracts (250 words maximum) is 20 March 2023. More information is available here.
Events: Tallinn Conference on the Law of the Sea and Hybrid Warfare
The Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea (NCLOS) is organizing a conference on ‘Hybrid Naval Warfare through the Lens of Maritime Security Law‘. The event is set to happen on 11-12 May 2022 at the Estonian Academy of Sciences (Estonia). The conference will bring together experts from various fields of international law, maritime law, as well as security law to discuss legal challenges posed by hybrid naval warfare. Registration is free and open until there are open seats. Read about the program, panelists, registration, and more on the conference website.
Filed under Events
2023 Summer Academy on the Continental Shelf
The University of the Faroe Islands and the Centre for International Law of the National University of Singapore will be co-organizing the 2023 Summer Academy on the Continental Shelf on 7-13 May 2023, in Singapore. This course is designed for government officials, researchers, practitioners, and advanced graduate students with particular interest for scientific and legal aspects relating to the continental shelf. The course confers particular focus on the intricate legal and technical conditions governing the entitlement to and establishment of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, and on the delimitation of overlapping entitlements to such areas. Emphasis will therefore be given to Articles 76 and 83 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and Annex II thereto. More information is available here.
Filed under Courses
Vacancies: associate professor at Aalborg University
The Centre for Blue Governance (CBG) at Aalborg University (Denmark) seeks an associate professor with a social scientific background who does innovative research in interrelated blue governance topics or emerging blue economy activities and/or marine/coastal conservation. Those applicants with experience and/or interest in the governance and socioeconomic implications of blue carbon, deep-sea/seabed mining, aquaculture/mariculture, and/or multiuse conflicts and planning at sea are especially encouraged to apply. Closing date for applications is 5 February 2023, as per this announcement.
Filed under Vacancies
Vacancies: Endowed Chair at Monmouth University
The Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Monmouth University (NJ, USA) seeks an outstanding senior scholar for the Endowed Rechnitz Family / Urban Coast Institute Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy. The Chair will have an expertise in environment, coastal and marine policy. This position will offer courses geared towards the overall environment as well as environmental law and policy. The successful applicant will be hired at the Associate or Full Professor level in the Department of Political Science and Sociology with the possibility of a joint appointment in another appropriate department at the university, as well as associated with the Urban Coast Institute (UCI). More information is available here.
Filed under Vacancies
Vacancies: legal officer at ITLOS
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, an international court with its seat in Hamburg, Germany, has opened the following vacancy: Legal Officer (P-4). Application deadline is 15 February 2023. More information is available here.
Filed under Vacancies
Calls: OGEL Special Issue on Carbon Capture and Storage
The journal Oil, Gas & Energy Law (OGEL) invites submissions for a Special issue focusing on Carbon Capture and Storage. This special issue will look at the key issues related to carbon capture, utilization, and storage, taking a multi-jurisdictional and multi-disciplinary perspective including both onshore and offshore projects. Topics of interest include: challenges with cross-jurisdictional projects, including CO2 pipelines, CO2 shipments and offshore storage and international law of the sea. Papers should be submitted by the end of March 2023 to the editors. More information available in the call for papers.
Filed under Calls
ICCAT: management procedure for Atlantic bluefin tuna adopted
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) has for the first time in its history adopted a management procedure for Atlantic bluefin tuna. This novel measure, which is the result of the extensive collaboration among scientists, managers and stakeholders, should ensure long-term, sustainable and profitable fisheries of both the western stock and eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock. New management measures were also agreed for both North and South Atlantic swordfish stocks. More information available in ICCAT’s press release (21 November 2022).
Filed under International Organizations
OSPAR: consultation on the proposed expansion of the NACES MPA
The OSPAR Commission for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) is seeking views on whether to extend the North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Sea basin Marine Protected Area (NACES MPA) to cover the seabed and other species and habitats. This consultation, that starts on 1 December 2022 for a period of 3 months, invites views on new evidence presented in the revised nomination proforma that seeks to demonstrate clear linkages between the benthic and pelagic systems, explaining why this site is so important for seabirds and other species. More information is available here.
Filed under International Organizations, Surveys
Vacancies: Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Bergen
The Faculty of Law at the University of Bergen (UiB) and The Norwegian Centre for Hydrogen Research (HyValue) are recruiting a Postdoctoral Fellow in energy and business law. Applicants are encouraged to submit a project proposal on regulatory aspects related to hydrogen and ammonia transport (in pipelines or ships), storage, and contracts. Closing date for applications is 8 January 2023. More information is available here.
Filed under Vacancies
Events: International Law and the Nord Stream Leaks
The Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute of the World Maritime University (Sweden) will host a webinar on International Law and the Nord Stream Leaks, to take place on Friday November 18 at 14.00-15.30 CET. The webinar will take the form of a roundtable discussion. More information and a link to register can be found here.
Filed under Events
Vacancies: tenure-track appointment at Dalhousie University
The Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University (Canada), invites applications for a probationary tenure-track, tenure-track or tenured appointment at the rank of Assistant, Associate or Full Professor in the areas of Environmental Law, Climate Change and Energy Law, Environmental Impact Assessment, and Oceans Law. The selected candidate is expected to advance the research, teaching and graduate and post-doctoral supervision activities of our Marine and Environmental Law Institute and the associated Marine and Environmental Law Program. Closing date for applications is 17 November 2022. More information is available here.
Filed under Vacancies
Events: Preparing for Sea Level Rise
The School of Law of the University of Lisbon (Portugal) is hosting a conference entitled Preparing for Sea Level Rise. This event is set to happen in Lisbon on 18 November 2022. The program of the event is available here.
Filed under Events
Vacancies: Lecturer/Senior Lecturer at University of Wollongong
The Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong (Australia) is advertising a position for a lecturer or senior lecturer. The successful applicants are expected to support a range of research and capacity-building activities through the Indo-Pacific region. Closing date is 29 November 2022; more information is available here.
Filed under Vacancies
New Zealand: moratorium on deep seabed mining backed
The Government of New Zealand announced its support to a conditional moratorium on deep sea mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction until environmental rules are agreed and backed up by science. The decision follows a review of progress on regulations for deep sea mining in the area managed by the International Seabed Authority, who has a July 2023 deadline to complete the regulations, or Mining Code, before mining applications can be submitted. More information on this announcement can be found in the press release from the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This announcement goes in the same direction of a motion by IUCN (see De Maribus report here) and of a decision from the Parliament of Belgium (see De Maribus report here)
Filed under State Practice
Events: Filling the legal toolbox for working towards ocean sustainability
The Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea (NILOS) and the Utrecht University Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law (UCWOSL), in collaboration with the Centre for International Law (CIR) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, are organizing a workshop entitled Filling the legal toolbox for working towards ocean sustainability: UNCLOS, UNCLOS 2.0 and/or what else? This event is set to take place on 17 and 18 November 2022, in The Hague (Netherlands). Further information about registration, as well as the program of the event, is available here.
Filed under Events
Vacancies: legislative drafting services for British Virgin Islands
The Government of the Virgin Islands is inviting candidates to submit Expressions of Interest to create a specialist panel to provide legislative drafting services for the comprehensive review of the maritime laws of the British Virgin Islands. The primary objective of this undertaking is to create a Legislative Drafting Maritime Panel consisting of individuals who can efficiently and effectively provide the required legal drafting services to the Government to draft the primary and subsidiary legislation required to give effect to the review of the British Virgin Islands’ maritime laws, to undertake peer review of drafts produced by other drafters as part of the Project and to liaise with them on their projects where appropriate. Expressions of Interest must be submitted no later than 26 September 2022. For further information consult the Virgin Islands Shipping Registry press release.
Filed under Vacancies
ECOWAS: Supplementary Act on piracy suspects adopted
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) adopted the Supplementary Act on the Conditions of Transfer of Persons Suspected of Having Committed Acts of Piracy and Their Associated Property and / or Evidence. This adoption was decided at the 61st Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government on 3 July 2022, in Accra, Ghana. According to the ECOWAS communiqué, the purpose of this initiative is to further strengthen the gains made in securing the region’s maritime domain from acts of piracy. The Act serves to facilitate the transfer of piracy suspects and the associated property and/or evidence to member states with the appropriate legal framework to ensure ‘legal finish’ with the prosecution of piracy, while ensuring compliance with applicable international human rights law, including the treatment of suspected or transferred persons, as well the inclusion of provision on death penalty to safeguard that no transferred person or persons are subjected to death sentence for acts of piracy. More information is available in a press release from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Filed under International Organizations
Events: IFLOS Maritime Talks 2022
The International Foundation for the Law of the Sea is organizing the 2022 Maritime Talks. The subject of this year is Security, Safety, and Freedom of Navigation through Straits. The event takes place on 24 September 2022 in Hamburg, Germany. More information can be found on the event poster.
Filed under Events
Vacancies: postdoc and assistant professor at Aalborg University
The Centre for Blue Governance (CBG) at Aalborg University (Denmark) has opened two academic positions. One position is for a postdoctoral researcher in marine affairs and arctic studies. Deadline for applications is 15 August 2022 (see here). The other position(s) is for assistance professor in diverse blue governance areas, which may include ecosystem-based marine management, EU marine policies, citizen science and biodiversity, maritime transportation, and policies on emerging blue economy sector. Deadline for applications is 15 September 2022 (see here).
Filed under Vacancies
Vacancies: Research Associate at IASS Potsdam
The Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) at Potsdam (Germany) has opened two positions for Research Associate. In one of the positions, the successful applicant will contribute to the project Marine Systems Approaches for Biodiversity Resilience and Ecosystem Sustainability (Marine SABRES) and Sources to Seas – Zero Pollution 2030 (SOS-ZEROPOL2030). More information here. In the other position, the successful applicant will contribute to the project Coherent and Cross-compliant Ocean Governance for Delivering the EU Green Deal for European Seas (CrossGov) and Multi-layer Governance of Marine Policies (PermaGov). More information here. Deadline for application is 29 August 2022.
Filed under Vacancies
Courses: International Maritime and Transport Law
The Inter University Centre of Dubrovnik (Croatia) is hosting a course entitled International Maritime and Transport Law – Transport Law De Lege Ferenda. The course takes place 5-9 September 2022. Applications are open here; more information is available here and in the course program.
Filed under Courses
Events: Marine Justice and Right to Science
The Observatorio para la Gobernanza Marino Costera (Colombia) is hosting a side event at the United Nations Ocean Conference 2022 entitled Marine Justice and Right to Science. The event takes place 30 June 2022, and it shall be held in English with simultaneous translation into Spanish. See program and registration.
Filed under Events, Non-State Actors
CJEU: Case C-700/20 (London Steam-Ship Owners’ Mutual Insurance Association Limited v. Kingdom of Spain) judgment delivered
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered judgment on Case C-700/20 (London Steam-Ship Owners’ Mutual Insurance Association Limited v. Kingdom of Spain). This corresponds to a request for a preliminary ruling from the High Court of Justice (England & Wales), Queen’s Bench Division (Commercial Court) (United Kingdom). The case relates to the Prestige sinking, and the CJEU found that arbitration proceedings initiated in the United Kingdom cannot block the recognition of the Spanish judgment ordering the insurer to pay compensation for the damage caused by the oil spill (see previous De Maribus report).
The CJEU held that Regulation No 44/2001 (on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial) must be interpreted as meaning that a judgment entered by a court of a Member State in the terms of an arbitral award cannot prevent, in that Member State, the recognition of a judgment given in another Member State where a judicial decision resulting in an outcome equivalent to the outcome of that award could not have been adopted by a court of the first Member State without infringing the provisions and the fundamental objectives of that regulation, in particular as regards the relative effect of an arbitration clause included in the insurance contract in question and the rules on lis pendens. In doing so, the Court ensures, in essence, that those provisions and fundamental objectives cannot be circumvented by means of arbitration proceedings followed by judicial proceedings seeking to have the terms of the arbitral award entered in a judicial decision.
The judgment (20 June 2022) may be found here and the Opinion of the Advocate General (5 May 2022) is available here. See also the CJEU press release.
Filed under Jurisprudence
WTO: Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies adopted
The World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, to be inserted in the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization via an amendment (see previous De Maribus report). The decision to adopt this agreement was reached on 17 June 2022 at the WTO Twelfth Ministerial Conference. The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies includes rules prohibiting subsidies to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing (Article 3), to the fishing of overfished stocks (Article 4), and to fishing on the high seas outside the control of regional fisheries management organizations (Article 5). See the text of the agreement (reference WT/MIN(22)/W/22). Access the draft text and explanatory note here. Access the chair’s full statement here. See also the press release from the WTO on the “Geneva Package”.
Filed under International Organizations
Croatia/Italy: EEZ delimitation agreed
The Governments of Croatia and of Italy have signed on 24 May 2022 an agreement on the delimitation of their exclusive economic zones. See press release from the Government of Croatia and press release from the Government of Italia; see also the text of the agreement, which posits that if a dispute is not settled through direct consultations or negotiations, either Party may submit the dispute to ITLOS, the ICJ or an UNCLOS Annex VII Arbitral Tribunal (see Italian version here).
Filed under State Practice
De Maribus 
