Category Archives: Vacancies

The Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI) at the University of Southampton (UK) seeks to recruit up to 3 future-looking visionary researchers with strong interests in the oceans and the desire and ability to undertake multidisciplinary research. Law is one of the possible fields for applicants. This is for a full time fixed term (2 years) position. Deadline for applications is 27 November 2020. More information is available here.

Closing date 13 December 2020 to apply for a doctoral fellowship at the Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea (NCLOS), Arctic University of Norway (Tromsø). NCLOS seeks candidates for one PhD position on either of these themes: law of the sea and space, ocean commons, sovereignty at sea and governance models. The primary objective of NCLOS is to assess how and to what extent the law of the sea and ocean governance foster or can foster resilient and sustainable oceans in light of the challenges to the oceans and the legal framework. The objective is to be addressed through analysing several hypotheses, including the contentions that the logic of sovereignty and common interests and the governance of oceans commons both need reassessment. This fellowship appointment is for a period of four years. More information is available here.

Closing date for applications is 21 February 2021 for two Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) Excellence in Maritime Policy Postgraduate Scholarships at the University of Wollongong (Australia).

The AMSA Excellence in Maritime Studies Postgraduate Scholarship will be awarded to a student undertaking the Graduate Certificate in Maritime Studies, a program of study that will encourage the generation of solutions to problems relating to maritime law and policy. 

The AMSA Excellence in Maritime Policy Postgraduate Scholarship will be awarded to a student undertaking the Master of Maritime Policy to analyse the legal, political and operational factors that contribute to the development of the law of the sea and maritime policy, with the aim of devising solutions to gaps in legal and policy frameworks.

More information is available here.

The U.S. Naval War College (Newport, USA) is currently inviting applicants for the position of Associate Professor of Maritime Security and Governance. Applications are welcome until 5 October 2020, but note this position is only open to U.S. citizens.

For more information see here and here.

Deadline to submit applications is 31 July 2020 with the United Nations Development Programme for the Appointment of a Legal Expert (Law of the Sea) to Support the Joint Management Area (JMA) Demonstration Project Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Phase II Process.

The JMA Demonstration project is assisting Mauritius and Seychelles in the development and demonstration of new management approaches for extended continental shelf areas, which can provide lessons and management techniques that could be replicated both within the western Indian Ocean and other similar maritime zones globally. The JMA covers an area of 396,000 sq. km extending seaward to the east beyond the existing EEZs of both coastal States and is the largest joint maritime zone in the world. More information is available here (Reference Number 67599).

The Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) at University of California, Berkeley School of Law accepts applications for the position of Assistant/Associate Specialist on Climate & Ocean Research. The Climate & Ocean Law & Policy Fellow will work on domestic and international law and policy issues, roughly splitting their time between projects within the Climate Program and projects within the Ocean Program. Specific research areas will likely include: (1) on the climate side, work on California climate programs related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage and zero-emission transportation; (2) on the ocean side, domestic offshore renewable energy development, international ocean law issues including deep sea mining and marine scientific research; and (3) other potential energy and environmental issues.

Final date for applications is 27 July 2020, but next review date is 20 July 2020 to ensure full consideration by the committee. More information here.

The Centre for Trust, Peace, and Social Relations (CTPSR) at Coventry University is seeking a PhD candidate to study the topic, Pandemics as a non-traditional maritime security challenge – exploring the impact of COVID-19 on maritime trade and border management. Applications are welcome until 20 July 2020.

For more information see here.

Closing date for applications is 12 July 2020 with Wageningen University & Research for an assistant professorship in Governance of Coastal Resilience. The position requires adapting to existing courses taught by the Environmental Policy Group in the Masters of Aquaculture and Marine Resources Management, Environmental Sciences, and Tourism, Society & Environment. Research activities should contribute to social scientific debates around policy and management of coastal environments and how they contribute to resilient coastal communities and industries under conditions of environmental globalisation. Further information is available here.

Closing date for applications is 17 June 2020 with the Université d’Angers (France) for a PhD position on the topic of prevention and resolution of conflicts of use in the law of the sea (La prévention et la résolution des conflits d’usage en droit de la mer). The position is based at the Centre Jean Bodin and the researcher is expected to join the ZOMAD (observatoire des zones maritimes disputées) research group.

Further information is available here (English version here).

Black Sea CONNECT is currently looking for Black Sea Young Ambassadors that will advocate for blue growth in the Black Sea and promote the goals of the project’s Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). Applications are welcome until 31 May 2020.

For more information see here.

Closing date for applications is 10 July 2020 with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for a PhD position on the New Arctic and Digital Ocean (NADO), an initiative associated with NTNU Oceans. The PhD candidate will collaborate on research that frames the “New Arctic”; one angle of research presented is “the geopolitics of polar militarism and international law”. More information is available here.

The One Ocean Hub at the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, UK) is currently seeking a Knowledge Exchange Associate, with applications welcome until 26 May 2020.

For more information see here.

Oceana seeks a Law Clerk to assist the Legal Department, based in Washington D.C (USA). This position is designed for a current law school student in their 2L or 3L year of a J.D. degree or a lawyer pursuing an LL.M. degree. Applications are welcome until 29 May 2020.

For more information see here.

Deadline for applications is 5 June 2020 with the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) for a postdoctoral research position on adaptive governance of freshwaters. As climate change drives changing hydrological conditions and ecosystem change, research is needed to establish the key changes needed in current legal and governance arrangements (e.g. under the EU Water Framework Directive). Information on this position is available here.

Other postdoctoral research positions opened at the UEF with a possible legal angle (on recreational use/tourism relating to aquatic environments and on the effects of microplastics on aquatic ecosystems) are available here.

Applications are invited for a part-time Postdoctoral Research Assistant in the interdisciplinary 3 year research project ‘Risk Aware Port Inspection Drones’ (RAPID). The researcher will assist Dr Jacques Hartman, Reader in Law at Dundee Law School, in his role as Co-Investigator in the RAPID project. Applications are welcome until 31 May 2020.

For more information see here.

The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) is advertising for two full-time Fisheries Management Advisers, to be based in Honiara (Solomon Islands). Applications close 20 May 2020 at 7pm AEST.

For more information see here.

Closing date for applications is 1 June 2020 with the University of Washington (USA) for a Postdoctoral Research Scholarship about Equity and Justice in the ‘Blue Economy’. The position shall be based at the Ocean Nexus Center, EarthLab, as part of a new research program on ocean equity. The scholar is expected to work within a new team of transdisciplinary scholars investigating the relationships between people and the sea, with an explicit aim to address equity and justice issues in the emergent ‘blue economy’ agenda. More information is available here.

Closing date for applications is 3 May 2020 for a doctoral fellowship at the Arctic University of Norway (Tromsø). This fellowship is part of the interdisciplinary project Novel Marine Resources for Food Security and Food Safety (SECURE). The objective of the project is to develop knowledge enabling sustainable food security and safety by a multidisciplinary approach based on novel marine low trophic level resources, cardiometabolic health and legal framework. The position is for a period of four years. More information is available here.

The Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford is currently advertising for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Legal Regulation for Sustainable Plastics, with applications welcome until 17th April 2020. The research associate will be supervised by Professor Catherine Redgwell.

For more information and to apply see here.

Closing date for applications is 20 March 2020 with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra (Australia) for a PhD scholarship on international law and technological change in relation to the use of Marine Autonomous Vehicles in the deep seabed mining regime being developed at the International Seabed Authority. The PhD research will form part of the Australian Research Council funded project “Improving International Law Regulation of Maritime Autonomous Vessels” (DP200102091). The candidate is expected to work with the Maritime Security Research Group. More information is available here.

Closing date for applications is 29 March 2020 for PhD scholarships at the World Maritime University on Marine Debris and Sargassum Threats in the Eastern Caribbean Region (“Closing the Circle” Programme). The research will focus on three interconnected, holistic and multidisciplinary research themes: 1) Science and technology; 2) Blue / Green Economics; and 3) Societal awareness. Adaptive marine spatial planning is considered as a cross-cutting theme for all of the research themes. The terms of reference are available here.

Closing date for applications is 1 April 2020 for two doctoral fellowships at the Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea (NCLOS), Arctic University of Norway (Tromsø). Position #1 focuses on sovereignty and common interests: the candidate is expected to analyse how sovereignty and other derived concepts both obstruct and provide solutions to the challenges to the oceans and their governance. Position #2 focuses on the legal framework for oceans commons: the candidate is expected to discuss whether the Common Heritage of Mankind and freedoms of the high seas provide adequate basis for protecting the marine environment and whether they provide for equity and justice. More information is available here.

Closing date for applications is 29 February 2020 for two postdoctoral fellowships in ocean governance at the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC), Stockholm University (Sweden). The candidates are expected to contribute to two ongoing projects at the SRC: the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship initiative (SeaBOS) and the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA). The positions are for two years, full time. More information is available here.

Closing date for applications is 18 March 2020 for a PhD Research Fellowship at the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law, University of Oslo (Norway). The project designated for the PhD Research Fellow will be a part of and contribute towards the goals of the larger project Norwegian CCS Research Center (NCCS). The PhD Research Fellow will participate in a work package that aims to investigate legal issues related to the Carbon Capture and Storage value chain. The position is for three years, full time. More information is available here.

The University of Tasmania (Australia) accepts expressions of interest and applications for the project Evaluation of governance and economic measures to prevent and deter Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing. This interdisciplinary project will evaluate the effectiveness of economic and policy tools that governments and international organisations utilise to deter and prevent IUU fishing in national jurisdictions and on the high seas. It will examine issues that exacerbate the IUU fishing problem such as vessels flying flags of convenience, the transshipment of catches, and links to organised transnational criminal activities.

Closing date is 31 March 2020. The vacancy can be found here.

The UNSW Sydney is offering a PhD scholarship for research in the Law of the Sea. This scholarship is available to participate in a project addressing the enhancement of maritime security through informal lawmaking. Preference will be given to proposals that have a multilateral or regional perspective rather than focusing on the law and policy of one particular country. Multidisciplinary perspectives on the issues being assessed are encouraged. Deadline for applications is 4 February 2020. More information is available here.

The Centre for International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore is currently advertising two research positions in its Ocean Law & Policy Programme. CIL is seeking applications from candidates with both an advanced degree in international law (PhD or LLM) and a demonstrable interest in the law of the sea, marine environmental law or the international regulation of shipping. Candidates with a particular interest in Southeast Asia and its regional institutions are strongly encouraged to apply. The closing date for applications is 20 January 2020.

For further details and to apply please see here.

The Department of Law of the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg is announcing a post-doctoral position in Ocean Governance Law. For the purpose of this position ocean governance is widely construed, so as to include the regulation of human activities pertaining to or directly affecting the utilisation and long-term management of the oceans and their resources. Examples of relevant issue areas are social, economic and ecological aspects of shipping, utilisation and preservation of marine living resources, management of ecosystems under change, and regulatory challenges relating to the introduction of artificial intelligence in a maritime context. Closing date is 20 November 2019. More information is available here.

The CPMR (Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions) Atlantic Arc Commission is looking for trainee in its Brussels office starting end of January or beginning of February 2015 for a 6 months period. The deadline to submit applications is 1st December 2014. Ideally, the trainee would be from one of the 5 Atlantic Member States: Portugal, Spain, France, United Kingdom or Ireland. Full details regarding this internship can be found on the websites of the Atlantic Arc Commission and of CPMR.