Lords Committee to hear from maritime law experts on challenges of UNCLOS and the role of the International Maritime Organisation
Tuesday 23 November 2021
As part of its continuing inquiry into the operational effectiveness of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee will hear from academic experts in maritime law in its next evidence session.
The session will start at 10am on Wednesday 24 November and will be available to watch live or on demand at Parliament TV.
Giving evidence will be:
10am
- Professor Douglas Guilfoyle, Associate Professor of Law, UNSW Canberra; and
- Professor Anna Petrig, LLM, Chair of International Law and Public Law, University of Basel.
11am
- Professor Richard Barnes, Professor of International Law, University of Lincoln.
Questions will include:
- Are the current laws regulating maritime security at sea capable of dealing with contemporary challenges in light of recent technological advancements, such as maritime autonomous vehicles?
- What are the key legal challenges relating to modern piracy? How effective are the existing mechanisms, including under UNCLOS, to address these challenges?
- We have heard that in the case of human rights at sea, the dominant challenge is enforcement of existing human rights law, rather than gaps in the law. What should be done to improve enforcement of human rights law at sea?
- What have been the main achievements of the IMO, and how successful has it been at achieving its aims? Is it effective enough to bring countries together on issues related to UNCLOS?
- What is the usual process by which IMO instruments are established?
Part XV of UNCLOS provides for the settlement of disputes between States Parties to the Convention, including via the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. How successful have the various processes of dispute settlement under UNCLOS been to date?
