Class of 2009

Our third Summer Academy

The third IFLOS Summer Academy at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea took place from 26 July to 23 August, 2009 and focused once again on the “Uses and Protection of the Sea – Legal, Economic and Natural Science Perspectives”.

Class of 2009 group photo

Participants

The Foundation welcomed participants from 22 different countries. Five of these were selected by the Tribunal within the framework of the Nippon Program; 22 were chosen by the Foundation in close cooperation with the Tribunal. Although there were less applications than in the previous years, the Foundation took note of an even higher degree of academic qualification and professional achievements amongst the applicants. The Foundation’s sponsors (Edmund Siemers-Stiftung, Federal Ministry of Justice, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, KOICA Korean International Cooperation Agency, Leonhardt & Blumberg, Lighthouse Foundation and Zeit-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius) made it possible to award 14 scholarships. Given the fact  that The Nippon Foundation enabled 5 other participants to take part in the course, 19 young academicians from developing countries, i.e. 2/3  of all participants, attended the Academy under scholarships.

Schedule

As its predecessors, the 2009 Academy covered a variety of Law of the Sea, Maritime Law and related topics and dealt extensively with specific subjects of interest such as marine environmental protection, climate change and the oceans, oil pollution and its consequences, and  ship-building and vessel-financing. As before, a visit to the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg was part of the programme.

Based on the experience from 2 previous Summer Academies, certain areas of the course were strengthened, in particular

  • Continental Shelf, where the legal aspects and UNCLOS provisions were accompanied by the political and technical aspects of submissions in the light of the May 2009 deadline;
  • Fisheries with additional lectures about, e.g., IUU Fisheries and
  • Maritime Delimitation, where the traditional practical workshop with a prelude of mineral and petroleum resources topics was followed by the legal and political solutions.

Thus, the schedule moved towards distinguishable blocks and the Foundation intends to pursue that direction. A copy of the Schedule is attached.

Faculty

During the four weeks of the program, the participants had the opportunity to meet an impressive faculty composed of over 30 renowned personalities who travelled to Hamburg from many different corners of the world to share their expertise and experience with the participants.

The Foundation is especially grateful for the invaluable contributions by the members of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. With 7 judges (President José Louis Jesus, Vice President Helmut Türk, Judges Rüdiger Wolfrum, Tullio Treves, Tafsir Ndiaye, James Kateka and Vladimir Golitsyn) and the Registrar Philippe Gautier, the Foundation could proudly record the highest ever participation of representatives from the Tribunal. Unfortunately, former President Thomas A. Mensah had to cancel his attendance at very short notice due to personal reasons.

Many members of the Faculties of 2007 and 2008 – legal and economic experts, natural scientists, and experienced practitioners in maritime affairs (in particular those having received favourable feedback from last year’s participants) – could be won to return to Hamburg.  A copy of the List of Lecturers is attached.

Open Event – Guest Lecture and Panel Discussion

This year, the Foundation chose a very topical theme for the traditional guest lecture, namely “Shipping – Crisis and Perspectives” and succeeded to win Dr. Martin Stopford (Managing Director of Clarkson Research, London, UK) to present.

This was followed by a panel discussion chaired by Prof. Dr. Doris König with a high-profile group of participants from the German Shipping industry. With about 170 registrations, this offer attracted the largest ever audience recorded for an event organised by the Foundation You will find the Flyer here.

Moot Court

Four teams of four participants each competed in the Moot Court Tournament on the maritime delimitation case “ARCADIA vs. BORDURIA” 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 Vice President Helmut Türk from the Tribunal, Prof. Dr. Doris König, Prof. Dr. Rainer Lagoni, Prof. Dr. Alexander Proelß and Dr. Christopher Staker. As before, the moot court judges chose a winning Team and awarded 3 special recognitions for oral argumentation.

Resolution

A group of 11 participants drafted a Final Resolution on the results of the Summer Academy in English and French, highlighting the achievements of the previous Summer Academies and giving valuable proposals for possible future improvements. Kim Emmanuel (Saint Lucia) and Pierre Ebbe Monga (Dem. Rep. of the Congo) read the Resolution at the Senate Reception; a copy of the English version is attached.

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 during a very informative bus tour as well as a boat tour through the port, they went to the medieval city of Lübeck and made a stop at the beach of Timmendorfer Strand. Furthermore, the participants visited the Kiel Canal Traffic Control Centre at Brunsbüttel and the North Sea at St. Peter-Ording. Once again, the Foundation also managed to organise an excursion to Berlin, with a visit to the Kanzleramt.

Senate Reception

At the close of the Summer Academy, the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg held an impressive reception in the Town Hall, hosted by State Secretary of Justice, Carola v. Paczensky, where the participants received their certificates.

A Growing 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 to further facilitate networking and add to the Alumni circle founded by the Class of 2007. The feedback given by the participants was in every sense overwhelmingly positive, especially concerning the consistency of the group and the quality of the lectures delivered.

Thank You

Finally, the Foundation would like to wholeheartedly thank President Jesus, the Registrar Prof. 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.

After the Summer Academy is before the Summer Academy