Conference on the Convention on the Law of the Sea celebrating its 25th anniversary

On 17 and 18 October, experts and policy makers discuss the United Nations' International Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and its future at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg. The organizers of the event are Indiana University's Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, the University of Hamburg and the International Foundation for the Law of the Sea. There are still spots available for the conference.

25 years ago, the United Nations adopted the International Convention of the Law of the Sea. To mark this occasion, an international UNCLOS Conference is held in Hamburg. UNCLOS stands for United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The venue for the conference is the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea at Hamburg-Nienstedten. The white old-fashioned villa and the new building in a spacious park with view on the river Elbe house Germany's only international court of law. Since 1996, 21 judges of the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea have delivered judgements on disputes over the interpretation of the Convention of the Law of the Sea.

The convention was developed in 1994, after nine years of negotiations as a reaction to a long lasting dispute about the size of the area of the coastal waters. These kinds of issues become more and more important because many countries use marine resources and want to increase the size of their fishing and oil production areas. 165 states have so far ratified the convention; incidentally, the USA are not among them.

Major aspects of the Convention of the Law of the Sea are the determination of a 12 nautical mile zone as coastal waters as well as a continuous 12 nautical mile zone. The coastal waters are territorial waters, which means that the coastal state is able to punish violations. In the continuous zone, the state can decree customs, health or immigration provisions. The convention also deals with rights and duties within the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) as well as the exploitation of the high seas and the ocean bed.

At the conference in Hamburg, experts will review the current state as well as discuss the future of the Convention of the Law of the Sea. During the first day of the conference, the dispensation of justice regarding the usage of the sea areas and the settlement of disputes will be considered. The most prominent speaker of the day will be former US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel talking about the practical application of the Articles (altogether 320) of the Convention. Directing the focus onto the future, the second day features issues such as changes of marine policies as new technologies emerge.

Find out more under https://hls.indiana.edu/unclos/