The British Institute of International and Comparative Law is holding in London, the UK, an event entitled “Obligations of States in Undelimited Maritime Areas”. This event will analyse and discuss the obligations of States in regard to undelimited areas pending agreement on maritime boundary delimitation. In particular, the event will focus on the obligations of States under Articles 74(3) and 83(3) of UNCLOS to refrain from activities that could jeopardise or hamper the reaching of a final agreement on maritime delimitation. The event occurs on 22 July 2016 and is free to attend, but registration is required. Further information about the venue, the guest speakers and the registration is available here.

The Piraeus Bar Association is organizing the 9th edition of its International Conference of Maritime Law. This event is the sequel of a tradition established 24 years ago. It will be held in Piraeus from 13 to 15 October 2016 and will deal with Maritime Safety and Security (legal implications to ships, cargo and the human element). Young scholars and practitioners are also invited to participate to an essay competition, the “Young Maritime Prize”. More information about the conference can be found here. The terms to apply for the prize are here. Registration and venue information is to be found here.

The Centre for East Asian Studies Groningen (CAESG), University of Groningen, in cooperation with SIB-Groningen, and the study association Vintres, will hold a guest lecture by Mr. Gou Haibo (Consular and Legal Officer in the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to the Kingdom of the Netherlands) entitled, Dispute Settlement in the South China Sea: Beijing, Manila, The Hague. The lecture will be held on the 13 June, 20:00-21:30 in the Academy Building (Groningen, The Netherlands).

For more information, see here.

Virginia University’s Center for Oceans Law and Policy (COLP) is organizing, in cooperation with the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea and the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations, a conference entitled Legal Order in the World’s Oceans: UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This is already the 40th annual conference of the COLP and it will be hosted at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, on June 27–28, 2016. The program can be found here.

The Univeristy of Hasselt will host a guest lecture by Prof. dr. Alexander Vylegzhanin (Head of International Law Department, Moscow State Institute of International Relations), entitled Oil and gas development in the Arctic – International law and Russian policy. The event will be on 26 May 2016, at 4:00pm, in the Oude Gevangenis, Universiteit Hasselt. The event will be in English.

For more information see this flyer, and for registration (in dutch) see here.

UCILS, of Utrecht University, will host a guest lecture by Dr Efthymios Papastavridis, entitled, EU and NATO efforts to combat smuggling of migrants in the Mediterranean and the international law of the sea. The lecture will take place 15.00-17.00, 19 May 2016, in the Toonpeterszaal, Achter Sint Pieter 200, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

For more information, see here.

The Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (Swansea University), in cooperation with the Center for Energy, Law, and Business of University of Texas Law School, will hold a symposium entitled, Lex Petrolea – Reality or Myth?, on the 21 June 2016 at Etc. Venues, London, United Kingdom.

For more information see here, this flyer and registration.

The sixth conference of the MSP stakeholder series, focussing on MSP Worldwide will be organised on 8 and 9 June 2016 by DG MARE in University of the Azores, Ponte Delgada, Azores. The conference will present experiences, opportunities and challenges of MSP implementation around the world. In particular it will look at MSP’s economic benefits, its potential as a climate adaptation tool as well as at the role of area-based management regimes in international waters. The main purpose is to take stock of what is being done at international level and identify potential synergies with EU MSP. More information can be found here.

The World Maritime University is hosting a symposium on migration by sea. The event is organized in partnership with the University of Genoa (Università degli Studi di Genova – UNIGE) and will occur on 26-27 April 2016 in Malmö, Sweden. More information on the program and registration procedure can be found here.

The Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies shall host a panel debate entitled, China and International Adjudication, on Tuesday 12 April 2016, from 9:00-11:00 at the College De Valk, Leuven. This shall include a discussion on the South China Sea dispute, and China’s ‘non-participatory involvement’.

For more information, and registration, see here.

The Hague Institute for Global Justice, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and the Observer Research Foundation (New Delhi), and with support from Leiden University College The Hague, will host a public expert panel discussion entitled, ‘From “Mare Liberum”  to “Mare Justum”?’. The event will be held on 31 March 2016, 16:00 – 17:30, at The Hague Institute for Global Justice, Den Haag (The Netherlands).

For more information, and it register, see here.

The final conference of Marsafenet, Maritime Safety and Security: Future Perspectives, will be held from the 10 – 11 March 2016 at the National Research Council of Italy, Rome.

For more information and registration, please see the flyer.

The 77th Biennial Conference of the International Law Association, International Law and State Practice, Is there a North-South Divide?, will be hosted by the South African Branch of the International Law Association between 7-11 August 2016 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa. The provisional programme includes a number of talks of interest to the law of the sea.

For further information please see here.

On 26 February 2016, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut will organise a Symposium on International Law and Japanese Approaches. The panel sessions will be devoted to two topics: the disputes in the maritime areas of East Asia; and the changing role of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in international peace operations. The Symposium will start with a keynote speech of H.E. Judge Hisashi Owada of the International Court of Justice. More information is available here.

Utrecht University in collaboration with the Exterritory art project has announced an interdisciplinary 2 day conference entitled, Representations of the (Extra)Territorial: Theoretical and Visual Perspectives, to be held from 22-23 April 2016 at Utrecht University. The conference will consist of four panels, addressing respectively virtual reality, the environment, human rights, and general conceptual shifts in understandings of territoriality. Of particular interest to oceans governance see panel II.

For more information on the conference see the programme here. For more information on the Exterritory art project, see here.

The International Law Institute and Georgetown University Law Center are hosting a conference on natural resources and the law of the sea. This event is expected to cover issues such as principles of allocation of resources in areas under national jurisdiction, the exploration and exploitation of resources in areas under national jurisdiction, and natural resources and biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. The event is to happen on December 7, 2015, in Washington, USA. More information can be found here.

The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals (Brill/Nijhoff) will host a seminar entitled ‘Developing International Law at the Bar – A Growing Competition Among International Courts and Tribunals‘ on the 5th November 2015, from 3:00-5:30pm at The House of the New York City Bar Association, New York (USA). The thematic approaches discussed will include the law of the sea. Attendance is free, register online.

For more information, see here.

The European Commission is organizing its fifth conference on Marine Spatial Planning. This session will be on the marine environment and it will occur on December 7 in Brussels. Registration can be made here and the program can be found here.

The Centre for International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea (JCLOS) at the University of Tromsø are hosting in Singapore a Conference on the Governance of Arctic Shipping. The objective of the Conference is to examine major legal issues relating to shipping in the Arctic and the role of Arctic States, user States and international organisations in Arctic shipping governance. The event occurs from 9 to 11 December and more information is available here.

The 2015 International Law Weekend, entitled Global Problems, Legal Solutions: Challenges for Contemporary International Lawyers, will be held at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York at 42 West 44th Street (November 5th), and at the Fordham Law School, Lincoln Center (November 6-7, 2015). A number of panels are focused on the law of the sea, ‘Towards a New Implementing Agreement Under UNCLOS on Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction’; ‘Arctic Ocean Stewardship’ and ‘Rising Seas, Baselines Issues: The Work of the International Law Association Baselines and Sea Level Rise Committee’.

Please consult the draft program. More information and registration can be found here.

The K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea is presenting a workshop entitled ‘The EU as a Global Actor in the Arctic’. The event will occur on 26 October 2015 in Tromsø. It aims at discussing emerging legal issues concerning the current European regulatory framework in the Arctic. More information can be found here.

A seminar entitled Arctic Shipping and Safety – Legal Challenges and Opportunities, will be held by the Royal Danish Naval Academy in Copenhagen (Denmark) from 6 – 7 October 2015. Note attendance fees are applicable; students (DKK 150) professionals (DKK 350). For more information see here.

The editors of this blog proudly present an event of their own making. A conference entitled “Extraterritoriality in Port state Jurisdiction” will be held at Utrecht University, in the Netherlands, on December the 14th. The event is organized under the research project UNIJURIS which focuses on unilateralism and the protection of global values within public international law. The program of the event can be found here.

The University of Macerata in Italy is holding a conference on the Governance of the Adriatic and Ionian Marine Space (La governance dello spazio marino adriatico-ionico). The event is presented in Italian and occurs on November 12-13, 2015. More information on the program and the venue can be found here.

The Human Sea European research project is presenting a conference in Nantes, 5-6 October 2015. The topic of this event is illegal activities at sea and state competencies. Presentations will focus on a wide range of issues: piracy and robbery, trafficking in human beings, clandestine immigration, drug trafficking, illegal fishing… The abstracts and more information on the registration and venue can be found here.

The University of Amsterdam is hosting a two-day event on fisheries and oil pollution on 7-8 October, 2015. The initiative is organized within the framework of the research project ‘Smart Mixes in relation to Transboundary Environmental Harm’. The objective is to provide insight into how alternative modes of regulation and different forms of regulatory instruments can complement the traditional approach of regulation through international agreements. More information about the event can be found here.

Danish Maritime Days is an annual event within Denmark, which this year will be held from the 5-6 October with a number of events of interest for those concerned with maritime regulation. The focus for events is the Copenhagen region and an overview can be found here.

The Centre of Excellence Operations In Confined and Shallow Waters is organizing its 3rd Conference on Operational Maritime Law. The event is to occur in Lisbon, Portugal, at the Instituto de Estudos Superiores Militares, between the 21 and 24 of September. The topic of this year’s event will be “There and Back Again: From Origins to Modern Threats”. The event will include presentations/discussions on Law of Armed Conflict, Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, The Mining of International Straits, Maritime Law Disputes on the Horizon, and Freedom of Navigation. Additionally, there will be legal workshops on Rescue and Assistance at Sea and Law Enforcement on the High Seas. You can find the invitation here and the agenda here. Registration is open until September the 4th subject to prior registration here.

The Long-Distance Advisory Council (LDAC) shall host a high-level workshop entitled ‘CFP: The External Dimension as a Driver for Change: Sustainable Fisheries & Regional Cooperation‘ in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, from 16-17th September 2015.

For more information see their website here, and registration here.

Celebrating the 50 year anniversary of the T.M.C. Asser Instituut, and the establishment in 2015 of the Antonio Cassese Initiative Foundation in the Netherlands, the Asser Instituut (The Hague) shall host; Asser 50 years – Public International Law Symposium “International Legal Aspects of Countering Piracy”. The event will taker place on the 15 October, 2015, from 09.00 – 17.15 hrs (followed by a reception).

More information can be found here, along with registration here.

The Universidade de Vigo, together with two other Spanish universities (A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela), are organizing a conference entitled “Work at Sea – New Maritime Legal Scenarios”. The event takes place in Vigo, Spain, 2-3 june. The program and the venue are available here.

An international conference entitled “challenges in the new ocean order: a legal perspective” is set to happen in Lisbon during Portugal’s 2015 Blue Week. The event occurs 4 June at the Feira Internacional de Lisboa (Parque das Nações). More information on the whole event can be found here and here. The program of the conference is available here.

The University of Greenwich will host The Chagos Litigation: A Socio-Legal Dialogue Conference, on the 29th June 2015. The schedule and reservation information can be found here. Places are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Those interested in attending, may also wish to attend the Centre for Law and Society in a Global Context New Book Series: The Chagos Islanders and International Law. The book discussion will be hosted by Queen Mary University (London), on the 27th May 2015. More information here.

The T.M.C. Asser Instituut will host a lecture entitled, Oil and Gas in the Marine Arctic: the Rights and Responsibilities of States and Peoples, by Prof. Rachael Lorna Johnstone, University of Akureyri, Iceland on the 26 May, 2015 at 15:00-17:00.

More information, and registration details may be found on the website here, and flyer here.

World Oceans Day on June 8th has been recognized by the United Nations since 2008. Those wishing to hold a conference or event can register online, here.

The schedule of all currently registered events can be found here. Of particular note to those interested in law of the sea is the Marine Protected Areas and the Law of the Sea Workshop, hosted by ISRIM and the University of Applied Sciences, Bremerhaven.

The conference, Maritime Security and Offshore Activities: Legal Aspects, hosted by ISRIM, in cooperation with MARSAFENET and IMLI will be held on the 12 June 2015 at the Chambers of Commerce, Bremen.

More information and registration details can be found here.

The Interspill Conference is happening in Amsterdam this year, between 24 and 26 March. It will be held at Amsterdam RAI Convention Centre, the Netherlands, and is co-organised by Reed Exhibitions and Interspill Ltd. The conference will be hosted by the Spill Response Group Holland (SRGH). The event includes an exhibition and focuses on the changing landscape of spill preparedness and response; it also focuses on how activities continue to move into more challenging environments and on how public sensitivities to perceived spill risks has increased. The program of the conference is available here. Registration can be done here.

Hosted by the Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law, in partnership with the ASIL Law in the Pacific Rim Region Interest Group, the 2015 ILA-ASIL Asia-Pacific Research Forum will be held 25th-26th May 2015, in Taipei, Taiwan. The theme is Integrating the Asia-Pacific: Why International Law Matters. Panels relevant for the law of the sea include B1 (Law of the Sea: Maritime Disputes) and A2 (Law of the Sea: South China Sea).

For more information and registration see here. A preliminary programme is available here.

The 39th Virginia Annual Conference, co-organized by the Center for Oceans Law and Policy, University of Virginia School of Law and Center for Polar and Deep Ocean Development, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, will be held in Shanghai, China from 24-26th June 2015.

For a draft programme, and more information see here.

The Maritime and Oceanic Law Centre (CDMO) of the Law faculty of Nantes is organizing a conference on the topic of the prevention and repression against illegal trafficking at sea (narcotics, human beings, weapons of war, illegal fisheries, piracy and violence, terrorism). The event occurs on 5 and 6 October 2015 at the Centre des Congrès of Nantes and the entrance is free but subject to registration. There will be simultaneous translation of the contents from French. You can find the program here.

The International Foundation for the Law of the Sea (IFLOS) is organizing a one-day conference as part of its ‘Maritime Talks’ series, entitled Arctic Issues with a Special Focus on Shipping and the Polar Code. The event will be held on the 14th March at The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), Hamburg.

For more information on registration fees, procedures and confirmed speakers see here.

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the FAO, and The Fisheries Administration (FiA) of Cambodia, will host a conference entitled Tenure & Fishing Rights 2015 A global forum on rights-based approaches for fisheries. It will be held between 23 – 27 March 2015, at the Apsara Angkor Hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia. UserRights 2015 seeks participation and contribution from the widest variety of stakeholders with an interest in tenure in fisheries and sustainable natural resource use in general and fisheries in particular. The UserRights 2015 forum will provide its participants with a holistic understanding of the concept of rights-based approaches for fisheries needed for advancing and improving the basis for generating practical, constructive guidance for all stakeholders involved.

For more information see here, along with registration and a draft programme.