IMLI/WMU Symposium 5 March 2020

IMLI/WMU Symposium on flag State responsibilities and the future of Article 91 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea co-hosted by IMO and ITLOS at IMO Headquarters on 5 March 2020.

A Symposium on flag State responsibilities and the future of Article 91 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was organized on Thursday 5 March 2020 by the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) and the World Maritime University (WMU) and co-hosted by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and the IMO.

The Symposium was attended by delegates from IMO Member States, representatives from international organizations, maritime lawyers and academics. 

The first panel was comprised of four experts, former ITLOS Judge David Anderson, ITLOS Judge Tomas Heidar, Mr. Ed Watt from Addleshaw Goddard LLP; and Mr. Jan Hoffmann from UNCTAD. They discussed the development and interpretation of Article 91 of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Their presentations delved into the negotiating history of this Article, along with the right of flag states to make claims. The panel also gave professional insights to the practical implementation as well as the trends and developments in ownership and registration.

The second panel introduced the topic of current and future challenges on the implementation of Article 91 of UNCLOS by flag states. ITLOS Judge James Kateka highlighted important case law pertaining to nationality and registration of ships in the jurisprudence of the Tribunal.

Mr. Frederick Kenney, Director of Legal Affairs and External Relations Division of IMO talked further on fraudulent registries and provided an update on the work of the IMO which including measures that will help prevent unlawful practices associated with such fraudulent registries.

The second panel also introduced, Mr. Neville Aquilina, Chair of the Sanctions Monitoring Board and Director General, Global Issues, International Development & Economic Affairs, Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs for Malta. He talked on ship registration and compliance with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

The third and final panel welcomed Ms. Elizabeth Bouchard of the Marshall Islands and Mr. Kostas Ladas of Liberia who discussed the structure and operation of their respective registries. Two further experts, Ms. Naomi Burke O'Sullivan from ITLOS, and Professor George Theocharidis from the World Maritime University talked about the future challenges and opportunities in relation to the registration of ships.

Available presentations can be found on this page under Related Documents.