Conference: The Scope of Litigation under the UNCLOS – Where are we now and where may we be going?

This conference, which will be convened in Utrecht on 21 and 22 November 2024, aims at dissecting the judicial jurisdiction of tribunals under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). By capturing the current state of affairs and potential trends in this respect it is intended to further the discussion on the future role of dispute settlement under the Convention and its impact on the Convention as a whole. Participants can register until 1 November, by sending a motivation to attend the conference (see below).

The many questions that may be discussed include, but are not limited to:

• How have UNCLOS tribunals defined their jurisdiction and what justifications have been offered or implied in that connection?
• How do States parties to the Convention view the approaches the judiciary has entertained in this respect and what impact, if any, have these approaches had on the litigation strategies of States?
• How do the approaches of UNCLOS tribunals impact the Convention’s development and its interaction with the broader legal landscape for ocean governance?

Legal analysis can only shed light on certain facets of the many issues and processes involved. For this reason, the theme is approached from a multi-disciplinary perspective and the conference strives to bring together scholars of, in particular, the disciplines of law, international relations and philosophy. By adding different disciplines to the discussion, the conference intends to capture (theoretical) perspectives on the role of courts and tribunals in managing interstate relations and how that relates to the current state of affairs in the UNCLOS. It is expected that the dialogue between the different disciplines will enrich each of their understanding of what are, could and should be the bounds of the jurisdiction of UNCLOS tribunals.

Organisers

The organisers of the Conference consist of the research team involved in the Judicial Jurisdiction Project, based at Utrecht University School of Law, namely Danae Georgoula, Lan Nguyen, Seline Trevisanut, and Alex Oude Elferink.

Registration: motivation to attend the conference

To ensure having an engaged audience we ask participants to register providing a motivation (max. 250 words) explaining why you are interested in the topic of judicial jurisdiction (in the law of the sea) and what you are expecting from the conference in this respect. Go to Call for interest – Conference: The Scope of Litigation under the UNCLOS for more information.