Class of 2007
The Foundation welcomed 33 participants of it’s first Summer Academy – the Class of 2007 – who came from 28 different countries from all five continents. They had been carefully chosen from almost 70 applicants. Two of the participants have written down their own experiences, namely Dugyu Damar and Hussain Makhlooq.
Schedule & Faculty
During the four weeks of the programme, the participants had the opportunity to listen to 30 renowned lecturers who travelled to Hamburg from many different corners of the world to share their expertise and experience with the participants. These lecturers came from many different professions, among them Judges of the Tribunal (President Wolfrum, Judge Cot and former ITLOS Judge and President Mensah), legal and economic experts, natural scientists, and experienced practitioners in maritime affairs.
The participants took also part in a workshop on maritime delimitation where they could actively take part in the solution of practical problems, a visit to the laboratory of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) in Sülldorf and a visit to the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg.
The Tribunal in Action
One of the highlights of this first Summer Academy was certainly the opportunity to attend the reading of the judgments rendered in the Cases No. 14 (The “Hoshinmaru” Case) and No. 15 (The “Tomimaru” Case) of the Tribunal on 6 August 2007. President Wolfrum and Judges Treves and Ndiaye kindly gave a short introduction into these two prompt release cases, drawing the attention of the participants to the special legal issues involved.
Open Events – Guest Lectures
The participants had the privilege of listening to two distinguished guest lecturers delivering speeches in the courtroom of the Tribunal, namely the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, Mr Satya Nandan, who spoke on the very interesting subject “Deep seabed mining – when will it start?“, and Dr. Agustin Blanco-Bazán, Senior Deputy Director of the IMO, who provided the audience with an answer to the somewhat provocative question “Freedom of Navigation – an outdated concept?”.
Moot Court
Furthermore, four teams took part in the Moot Court Competition on the “Oryx Case” held in the Court Room of the Tribunal and gave an impressive performance. Although there was not much time to prepare the memorials and the hearings, the participants came up with well-prepared arguments and sharp answers to the questions put to them by the moot court bench consisting of Judge José Luis Jesus from the Tribunal, Prof. Dr. Rainer Lagoni, Mr Hartmut von Brevern and Prof. Dr. Doris König.
Resolution
A group of 15 participants, supported by Prof. Dr. Peter Ehlers, drafted a Final Resolution on the results of the Summer Academy in English and French, highlighting the achievements of the first Summer Academy and giving valuable proposals for possible future improvements.
Extra-curricular activities
Although the schedule was tight, there was some time reserved for extra-curricular activities. The participants had the opportunity to do some sight-seeing in Hamburg and its vicinity, they enjoyed a very informative bus tour around the harbour, they walked through the narrow streets of the beautiful medieval city of Lübeck and made a stop at the beach of Timmendorfer Strand. The group was also taken on a week-end tour to the nice little town of Husum and to St. Peter-Ording on the North sea coast and were invited to a boat trip on the river Elbe in the Vierlande region. Furthermore, the participants visited the Aker Ship-building yard and the Hanseatic City of Wismar where the mayor held a reception for them.
The foundations for an Alumni Network
Although the participants came from very diverse legal and cultural backgrounds they got along with each other very well and formed a wonderful, very active and interested group. With their help, the Foundation will try to keep track of all of them and establish an alumni group which will hopefully meet again one day in Hamburg. The feedback given by the participants was in every sense overwhelmingly positive, especially concerning the consistence of the group and the quality of the lectures delivered.
Senate Reception
At the close of the Summer Academy, the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg also held an impressive reception in the Town Hall where the participants received their certificates.
Acknowledgements
It is important to mention the sponsors without whose generosity and support this fist IFLOS Summer Academy would not have been possible: the Edmund Siemers-Stiftung which supported the housing at the Europa-Kolleg, the Zeit-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius, the Lighthouse Foundation, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Nippon-Foundation, both of which provided scholarships, the Reederei Leonhardt & Blumberg, one of Hamburg’s ship owning companies, the Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Finally, the Foundation would like to wholeheartedly thank President Wolfrum, the Registrar Mr. Gautier, the Deputy-Registrar Mr. Kim and all the staff members of the Tribunal who have supported the team of the Foundation so well before and during the course of the Summer Academy.
