international symposium on maritime security and the belt and … · 2020-03-06 · lancashire law...

Lancashire Law School

International Symposium on

“Maritime Security and the Belt and Road Initiative: European

Perspectives”

Jointly Organized by the Institute for International and Comparative

Law and Confucius Institute, University of Central Lancashire, UK

10 May 2018, Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom


General Information

Conference Venue:

Scholars Boardroom, Foster Building

UCLan Preston City Campus

Accommodation:

The Legacy Preston International Hotel

Marsh Lane, Preston PR1 2YF

Tel: 08444 119 028

Lunches:

Lunch will be served at the conference venue

Dinner:

Scholars Restaurant, Foster Building

UCLan Preston City Campus

Dress Code:

Business

Rules of Workshop:

15-20 minutes for each Speaker and 5-10 minutes for each Discussant

Contacts:

Ms. Juan Fang, Lancashire Law School (LLS)

Ms. Hannah Xu, Confucius Institute, Tel: 01772 894246

Prof. Keyuan Zou, LLS, Tel: 01772 893687 (o); 07807158001 (m)


Introduction

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’

(BRI) and two years later in 2015, China released the ‘Vision and Action on

Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road’

so that the BRI has officially become one of China’s national strategies. The BRI

emphasizes five key areas of cooperation: coordinating development policies,

forging infrastructure and facilities networks, strengthening investment and trade

relations, enhancing financial cooperation and deepening social and cultural

exchanges. The BRI geographical coverage includes at least 18 European

countries. This massive bloc between the EU and China accounts for 64% of the

world’s population and 30% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

With an extensive coastline, China is a major trading and ship-owning country

with a growing trading interest under the BRI. China developed a merchant fleet

and a chain of ports, seven of which are among the top ten ports in the world.

China has become the top shipbuilding country with 41.1% of the market in 2010,

getting ahead of South Korea and Japan. These drives China to maintain

maritime security globally as a necessity to implement its BRI. However, the BRI

faces enormous challenges of maritime security in the sense of traditional and

non-traditional security threats. The regions along the Road are full of

geopolitical conflict zones. It means that the implementation of full connectivity

will face potential security risks in project facilities, personnel and investment.

Territorial disputes and historical rivalries have led to security challenges

between countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Other hot spots include the

continuing instability in North Africa and the threat of terrorism and the migrant

crisis in the Arabian Sea, the Mediterranean and Northwest India. Europe’s

security situation is also deteriorating. In addition, environmental security,

infectious diseases and natural disasters are also security challenges to the BRI.

In order to cope with these issues, and following the success of the international

symposium on ‘Maritime Silk Road’ held in May 2017, and also on the occasion

of the 190-year anniversary of the UCLan in 2018, the UCLan Institute for

International and Comparative Law and the Confucius Institute jointly organize

this event which aims to assess and define the challenge and risk in terms of

maritime security with which the BRI faced and provides solutions from the angle

of law through comprehensive discussions by leading scholars of different

nationalities.


Programme

9 May 2018 (Wednesday)

Guests Check-in

******

10 May 2018 (Thursday)

8:30-9:00 Registration

09:00-09:15 Opening Session

Professor Keyuan Zou, Director, Institute for International & Comparative Law,

UCLan, Preston, UK

Ms. Jane Anthony, Executive Dean, Faculty of Culture and Creative

Industries/Head, Lancashire Law School, UCLan, Preston, UK

Ms. Feixia Yu, Director, Confucius Institute, UCLan, Preston, UK

09:15-09:30 Photo Session

09:30-11:00 Panel I: Law, Security and the Belt and Road Initiative

Moderator: Ms. Jane Anthony

Speakers:

Dr Yuka Kobayashi, Lecturer in China and International Politics, SOAS

University of London, London, UK

China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Implications for Maritime Security

Dr Edwin Egede, Senior Lecturer in International Law & International Relations，

School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

China’s Belt and Road initiative: The Indian Ocean and African Maritime

Security Issues

Dr Lu Xu, Senior Lecturer in Property Law, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK

A Case Law System for China and Beyond? Implications for BRI

Discussant:

Professor Hong Liang, School of English Languages and Literature, Beijing


International Studies University, Beijing, China

11:00-11:15 Coffee/Tea Break

11:15-12:45 Panel II: Maritime Security and Sea Lanes of

Communications

Moderator: Ms. Feixia Yu

Speakers:

Dr Lingqun Li, Research Fellow, Collaborative Innovation Centre for the South

China Sea Studies, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

Examining the Concept of Indo-Pacific: Implications for BRI

Professor Vivian Louis Forbes, Adjunct Professor, School of Earth and

Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia and Adjunct

Research Professor, National Institute for South China Sea Studies, Haikou,

China

Securing Sea Lanes for the Maritime Silk Road

Dr Gotthard Gauci, Lecturer in Maritime Regulation and Policy, Graduate

School of Management, Plymouth University, UK

General Average and Piracy

Discussant: Professor Volker Röben

12:45-14:00 Lunch

14:00 – 15:30 Panel III: Environmental and Human Security at Sea

Moderator: Professor Lorenzo Schiano di Pepe

Speakers:

Dr Sofia Galani, Lecturer in Law, University of Bristol Law School, Bristol, UK

Human Security at Sea and the Maritime Silk Road

Professor Vasco Becker-Weinberg, Professor of International Law,

Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

Environmental and Human Security at Sea in the context of the BRI: The

Case of IUUF and Forced Labour at Sea

Professor David Ong, Professor of International Law, Nottingham Trent

University, Nottingham, UK


An Assessment of Environmental, Social and Cultural Considerations as

Security Issues on Maritime Silk Road Projects

Discussant: Professor Keyuan Zou

15:30-15:45 Coffee/Tea Break

15:45-17:45 Panel IV: Maritime Law Enforcement and Dispute Settlement

Moderator: Professor Keyuan Zou

Speakers

Mr. Christopher Whomersley CMG, Former Deputy Legal Adviser, Foreign and

Commonwealth Office, London, UK

Flag Sate Jurisdiction in the 21st Century

Professor Lorenzo Schiano di Pepe, Professor of International Law,

Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza, Scuola di Scienze sociali Università degli Studi

di Genova, Genova, Italy

Border Security in the Mediterranean Sea: Recent (Legal) Achievements

and Current Challenges

Professor Volker Röben, Professor of Energy Law, International Law and

Global Regulation, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK

Non-confrontational Settlement of Marine Disputes

Discussant: Professor David Ong

17:45 – 17:55 Wrap-up and Concluding Remarks

Professor Keyuan Zou

18:00 Conference Dinner (for Chairs, Speakers, Discussants and other

invitees only)

11 May (Friday)

Departure of the Guests


Speakers’ Bios and Paper Abstracts

Vasco Becker-Weinberg, Professor of International Law, Universidade Nova de

Lisboa, Portugal

Brief Bio:

Vasco Becker-Weinberg is a professor and the co-coordinator of the LL.M

program on “The Law of the Sea and the Sea-Economy” at the Faculty of Law of

the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, where he teaches the law of the sea and

several ocean governance subjects. He has obtained his doctoral degree at the

Universität Hamburg (2014), masters degree at the Universidade de Lisboa

(2008) and his law degree at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (2003). He is

undertaking post-doctoral studies at NOVA, focused on the intersection between

human rights law and the law of the sea. He has written and published

extensively in peer-reviewed publications, including monographs, book chapters,

essays, articles, commentaries and encyclopaedic entries.

Over the years, Professor Becker-Weinberg has taken part in several

Portuguese delegations to international fora dealing with the law of the sea,

including the United Nations, the European Union and the Convention on

Biological Diversity. He has also been involved in the drafting of Portuguese

policies and legislation on law of the sea and ocean governance subjects. More

recently, he has been appointed as consultant for the International Labour

Organization to conduct a legal assessment in Indonesia, Thailand and the

Philippines regarding labour protection in fisheries considering the 2007 Work in

Fishing Convention and the 2014 Protocol to the 1930 Forced Labour

Convention. He was previously legal advisor to the Portuguese Secretary of the

Sea (2013-2015) and a full-time scholar at the International Max Planck

Research School for Maritime Affairs at the University of Hamburg (2008-2012).

Paper Title:

Environmental and Human Security at Sea in the context of the BRI: The Case of

IUUF and Forced Labour at Sea

Abstract:

Human trafficking is a vile and unacceptable practice. Its connection with illegal,

unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF) may be found in many parts of the

world and challenges international law like very few activities at sea do.

Undoubtedly, the link between these two criminal activities constitutes a threat to

mankind as a whole, also due to its far-reaching ramifications such as piracy,

armed robbery and terrorism, which are too the result of the social and economic

impacts of IUUF, particularly in traditional coastal fishing communities. This paper

examines the connection between human trafficking and IUUF and its relevance


in the context of the OBRI, taking into account the shortcomings of international

law to effectively combat these phenomena.


Edwin Egede, Senior Lecturer in International Law & International Relations，

School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

Brief Bio:

Edwin Egede is a Senior Lecturer in International Law & International Relations

at the Cardiff University School of Law & Politics and obtained his PhD in

International Law of the Sea from the Cardiff University Law School. He has

authored a number of books and journal articles on the law of the sea and

various international issues, including his books -Africa and the Deep Seabed

Regime: Politics and International Law of the Common Heritage of Mankind

(Springer, 2011) and “Politics of International Law and Justice (with Peter

Sutch)(Edinburgh University Press, 2013). Recently, he has been appointed as

the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)/African Mineral

Development Centre (AMDC) Consultant on the African Blue Economy.

Furthermore, he was appointed as an independent expert member of the African

Union Commission Ad Hoc Experts Group established to develop annexes to the

African Charter on Maritime Security, Safety and Development in Africa (the

Lomé Charter) 2016. In addition, he is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme

Court of Nigeria with over 25 years extensive practice experience. Currently, he

is a member of the executive of the International Bar Association (IBA) Public

Law Committee.

Paper Title:

China’s Belt and Road Initiative: The Indian Ocean and African Maritime Security

Abstract:

China’s Belt and Road initiative includes an ocean route lane across the Indian

Ocean to Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. Thus it is important to engage with

the African Maritime Security Architecture vis-à-vis the Belt and Road initiative.

This presentation, focusing on certain soft law and black letter law (or hard law)

instruments this paper explores the African Maritime Security Architecture. It

identifies the multidimensional approach Africa adopts in relation to Maritime

Security.


Vivian Louis Forbes, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Earth and

Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia and Adjunct

Research Professor, National Institute for South China Sea Studies, Haikou,

China

Brief Bio:

Dr Vivian L. Forbes is presently an Adjunct Research Professor, NISCSS, Haikou,

PRC and Adjunct Professor, School of Earth and Environment, UWA. He was a

Distinguished Research Fellow and Guest Professor, CIBOS and CICTSMR,

Wuhan University (2013-17) and Guest Professor, Xiamen Universities; Dalian

Maritime University and Yunnan University, PRC. He is also a Visiting Research

Fellow, Maritime Institute of Malaysia (1993-2018).

His research interests are in the disciplines of cartography, marine political

geography and maritime studies. He lectures in these topics and has published

widely on these themes. The main focus of his research is on maritime boundary

delimitation and geopolitical issues. He has specialised on Indian Ocean

maritime affairs and international boundary issues of East, South and Southeast

and Southwest Asia. He has presented a number of papers at conferences and

seminars at national and international fora and conducted workshops on the

cartographical concepts and geopolitical concerns in determining maritime

boundaries. He is author of a number of books, atlases, journal articles and has

been consulted on matters relating to maritime and terrestrial boundaries and

has appeared as a witness at Joint Standing Committee on Treaties Sessions for

the Australian Federal Senate in relation to the delimitation of Australia’s

maritime boundaries with Indonesia in 1997 and East Timor in 2002. He has

presented on an annual basis (since 1995) Workshops on maritime boundary

and archival research issues at the Maritime Institute of Malaysia in Kuala

Lumpur and other cities.

Paper Title:

Securing Sea Lanes for the Maritime Silk Road

Abstract:

A major component and concern of the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) is the

utilization of the concept of sea lanes of communications, namely, the maritime

trade routes employed by ships. In addition to the traditional shipping lanes there

exist potential new routes, weather permitting, via the Arctic Ocean. From the

European perspective, cargo shipped from the ports of East Asia via the Polar

Silk Road would take a relatively shorter duration than using the routes through

South East Asian seas. However, the sea lanes of communication via the

geographical choke points, for example, the Bab-el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz

and Strait of Gibraltar have experienced, and still report, a fair share of problems


in the context of maritime security, especially acts of piracy and terrorism.

Ensuring safety of the ships and the cargoes they carry, the personnel and the

commercial value of the ships is of prime concern to operators and governments

of the littoral states. Whereas, freedom of navigation and innocent passage are

rights that apply to all commercial shipping, a ‘legal grey area’ exists for ships

engaged in scientific research and other activities. This presentation will highlight

the problem areas, examine the issues and offer an analysis of maritime security.


Sofia Galani, Lecturer in Law, University of Bristol Law School, UK

Brief Bio:

Dr Sofia Galani (LLB, LLM, PhD) is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Bristol.

She previously held the position of Teaching Associate in Law at the University of

Bristol Law School. Sofia holds an LLB in Law from the National University of

Athens (2010) and an LLM in Public Law from the University of Bristol Law

School (2011). She was awarded a PhD in Public International Law for her

project on ‘Hostages and Human Rights: Towards a Victim-Centred Approach?’

from the University of Bristol Law School in 2016. Sofia leads the International

Law and Human Rights and Maritime Security modules on the LLM programme

and EU Law on the LLB programme. Her research interests are on modern

piracy, maritime security, terrorism, and human rights, and she has published in

these areas. Sofia is currently working on two projects: a co-edited collection with

Professor Sir Malcolm Evans on maritime security and the law of the sea (EE,

2019) and a monograph on hostage-taking and human rights (CUP, 2020). Sofia

is a contributor to the UNODC Manual on Maritime Crime. She is the Editor of the

Case and Commentary section of the European Human Rights Law Review and

sits on Human Rights at Sea Non-Executive Board of Advisors.

Paper Title:

Human Security at Sea and the Maritime Silk Road

Abstract:

This talk is going to discuss human security at sea and argue that safeguarding

human security at sea will be an essential component of the Maritime Silk Road.

The meaning of human security at sea will be explored first, and it will then be

explained what threats seafarers will face while navigating through the proposed

maritime corridor focusing on piracy, maritime terrorism and human trafficking at

sea. The talk will then assess the effectiveness of the Chinese naval presence

and consider other measures needed to protect seafarers on board vessels in

the Maritime Silk Road. It will be concluded that the current lack of a consistent

framework to human security at sea will have to be replaced by an

institutionalised approach for which China will have to take the lead.


Gotthard Gauci, Lecturer in Maritime Regulation and Policy, Graduate School of

Management, Plymouth University, UK

Brief Bio:

Dr Gotthard Gauci is a Lecturer in Maritime Regulation & Policy at Plymouth

University; he is also an Adjunct Professor at the World Maritime University

(Sweden). He studied at the Universities of Malta, Southampton and Wales

(Cardiff) He previously taught at University of Wales (Cardiff) (1990-1995) and

Swansea University (1995-2006) . He is the author of Oil Pollution at Sea - Civil

Liability and Compensation for Damage (John Wiley 1997) and has published

numerous articles on various areas of Shipping Law.

Paper Title:

General Average and Piracy

Abstract:

The paper will examine the latest developments in case-law addressing the issue

as to the extent to which a shipowner whose ship with cargo has been seized by

pirates can claim general average contribution for ransom and other piracy

related expenses; the paper will focus on the Supreme Court judgment in The

Longchamp [2017][ UKSC 68. The issue raised in the case of The Cape Bonny

[2017] EWHC 3036 as to the implications of fault by the person claiming

contribution will be examined in the context of a piracy scenario.


Yuka Kobayashi, Lecturer in China and International Politics, SOAS University

of London, London, UK

Brief Bio:

Dr Yuka Kobayashi (LL.B Kyoto, MPhil, DPhil Oxon) is Lecturer (Assistant

Professor) in China and International Politics at the SOAS, University of London

and Visiting Research Professor at the Institute of International Economics,

Nankai University, Tianjin China. Prior to joining SOAS, she was a Junior

Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. After receiving a LL.B. from Kyoto

University, she studied Mandarin and Chinese International Politics at Nankai

University and then obtained her M.Phil. and D.Phil. at the University of Oxford.

Her research interests include International Relations of China, Chinese Law and

Politics, International Relations of East Asia, International Law, especially

International Economic Law (WTO/Trade/FDI), Environmental Law (Climate

Change and Energy), and Human Rights Law and Regulation.

Paper Title:

China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Implications for Maritime Security.

Abstract:

This paper examines the domestic and international forces driving China’s Belt

and Road Initiative and assesses its impact on regional and global maritime

security. The Belt and Road Initiative is made up of the Silk Road Economic Belt

and Maritime Road with the idea of ‘connectivity’ in material and ideational sense

underpinning the Initiative. Many of their key projects in the Belt and Road

Initiative, such as the port in Gwadar/CPEC, Myanmar deep port of Kyaukpyu

and South China Sea show how the Chinese economic interests and security

interests are intertwined. As such, the Maritime Road has much implication for

maritime security for China, its neighboring countries, and the world. This paper

takes a case study approach to examine the empirical and theoretical linkages

between Belt and Road Initiative and maritime security.


Lingqun Li, Research Fellow, Collaborative Innovation Centre for the South

China Sea Studies, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

Brief Bio:

Dr. Lingqun Li is a Research Fellow at the China Center for Collaborative

Studies of the South China Sea based at Nanjing University. She received her

Ph.D in Political Science from University of Delaware, U.S.A., in 2014. Her

research interests include maritime disputes in the South China Sea, great power

politics in East and Southeast Asia, practices of maritime cooperation in

semi-enclosed seas and China’s marine governance system. She has published

several journal articles on topics such as maritime cooperation in the South

China Sea, Japan’s South China Sea policy and the U.S. approach towards

maritime disputes. Her monograph China’s policy towards the South China Sea:

When Geopolitics Meets the Law of the Sea is recently published by Routledge.

Paper Title:

Examining the concept of Indo-Pacific: Implications for BRI

Abstract:

In recent months, the term “Indo-Pacific” became a buzz word in both the

academia and the policy circle. What is Indo-Pacific? What does it imply in terms

of geostrategic configuration? How does it differentiate itself from the Asia-Pacific?

What impact will it have on China’s BRI initiative? Can the Indo-Pacific together

with Quad complement BRI or is it going to challenge the BRI in the hard way?

These are pressing questions facing the countries along the BRI. The paper

consists of two parts. The first part traces the origin of the concept of Indo-Pacific,

explores the background from which this concept gradually took shape and

examines the content and geostrategic configuration implied in it. The second

part compares the BRI and the Indo-Pacific / Quad and finds the overlap and

differences between the two. Such a comparison will shed light on the how the

BRI can be better prepared to respond to the opportunities and challenges

embedded in the concept of Indo-Pacific.


David Ong, Professor of International Law, Nottingham Trent University, United

Kingdom

Brief Bio:

David M. Ong is currently Research Professor of International and Environmental

Law, Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University UK, where he is

co-Director of the Marine Ecological Resilience and Geological Resources

(MERGeR) Centre, as well as the founding Director of the LLM Degree Course in

Oil, Gas & Mining (OGM) Law. His main research interests are in the

International Law of the Sea, International Environmental Law and International

Investment & Development Finance Law. He has published in multiple edited

volumes of essays in each of these three fields – four of which he has co-edited

himself, as well as in the following law journals/reviews: American Journal of

International Law (1999), European Journal of International Law (2001), Journal

of International Economic Law (2017), Nordic Journal of International Law (2010

& 2016), Netherlands International Law Review (2011), International Journal of

Law in Context (2015), International Journal of Marine & Coastal Law (1999 &

2002), Journal of Environmental Law (1998) as well as the 2000 Netherlands

Yearbook of International Law, 2006 Irish Yearbook of International Law and

2006 Yearbook of International Environmental Law (2008), respectively.

Paper Title:

An Assessment of Environmental, Social and Cultural Considerations as Security

Issues on Maritime Silk Road Projects

Abstract:

Building on a previous contribution to the literature on the similarities, differences

& overlap between maritime and marine security perspectives, this paper

examines the expanding conceptions of security (for example, human security &

environmental security) in the context of proposed major infrastructure projects

along the Maritime Silk Road. While these projects are required to assess their

environmental, social and cultural impacts, their implications for overall national

security concerns are perhaps less extensively considered. This contribution

assesses how far environmental, social and cultural concerns can be re-cast as

national security issues when considered within the context of proposed Maritime

Silk Road infrastructure projects.


Volker Röben, Professor of Energy Law, International Law and Global

Regulation, University of Dundee, UK

Brief Bio:

Volker Roeben is professor of energy law and global regulation at the University

of Dundee, as well as a visiting professor at the China University of Political

Science and Law, Beijing, and docent at the University of Turku. Prior to coming

to Dundee, he was a professor at Swansea University and a senior research

fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International

Law. He has held visiting professorships inter alia at the University of Chicago

School of Law, has served as a clerk to Justice Di Fabio of the German

Constitutional Court, and advised the Energy Charter, the European Parliament,

international organisations and national parliaments. Volker’s research combines

public international law, European Union law and the theory of global law, with

several books and numerous articles published and a research monograph on

the European Energy Union in press with Cambridge University Press. He also

serves on the board of the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative

Constitutional Law.

Paper Title:

Non-confrontational Settlement of Marine Disputes

Abstract:

The successful first ever conciliation under UNCLOS, in Timor-Leste v Australia,

proves that the mechanisms for non-confrontational settlement of high-level

marine disputes are a viable alternative to adversarial judicial and arbitral

proceedings. This paper explores the conditions of employing such mechanisms

to achieve equitable outcomes of disputes over oil and gas resources that

straddle jurisdictional lines. It first sets out the place of such mechanisms within

UNLCOS and its structures. It then develops principles that will assist in bringing

about equitable outcomes in such cases, such as unitization. The paper refers to

the insights of optimization theory for this purpose. It finally examines concrete

instances in where the mechanism and the principles could be deployed to

defuse high-level threats to marine security.


Lorenzo Schiano di Pepe, Professor, Department of Law and Social Sciences,

Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy

Brief Bio:

Lorenzo Schiano di Pepe is a full professor of European Union Law at the

University of Genoa, Italy, currently teaching “EU Law” and “International and

European Law of the Sea”. He has been appointed as Jean Monnet Chair for

International and European Law of the Sea for the period 2017-2020. He has

been coordinating a summer school on “European Union and the Law of the Sea”

(formerly as a Jean Monnet Module) since 2015 (http://eu-los.eu). Additionally,

he teaches “Legal Aspects of Hydrography” at a master’s course programme in

“Marine Geomatics”.

He holds degrees from the University of Genoa, the University of London,

Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Milan.

He has authored or co-authored several monographs, book chapters, essays,

articles, encyclopedic entries and case notes in areas such as public

international law, private international law, international and European

environmental law, international and European transport law, European

institutional law and law of the sea.

He is a member of the scientific board of various scientific publications and

he is also on the scientific committee of the Institute for the Law of the Sea and

International Marine Environmental Law (ISRIM), based in Bremen, Germany.

He is a member, inter alia, of the European Society of International Law (ESIL),

the Italian Society of International and European Union Law (SIDI), the Italian

Society of Maritime Law (AIDIM) and the Italian Association of European Jurists

(AIGE). He is also a member of the Comité Maritime International’s International

Working Group on “Offshore Activities”.

Paper Title:

Border Security in the Mediterranean Sea: Recent (Legal) Achievements and

Current Challenges

Abstract:

The paper will discuss the most relevant developments recently achieved by EU

law when it comes to the management of the EU’s external maritime borders with

particular regard to migration. In this vein, first of all, the implications of the

adoption and entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 of the European


Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2016 “on the European Border

and Coast Guard” will be discussed, from a legal as well as from an institutional

point of view. Secondly, and more in general, an attempt will be made to assess

whether such developments signal a shift of competences from the national to

the EU level with regard to the governance of maritime fluxes that take place at

sea and that have the EU as a point of destination. Thirdly, and finally, some of

the challenges that currently remain open will be dealt with, with a view to

identifying possible solutions.


Christopher Whomersley CMG, Former Deputy Legal Adviser, Foreign and

Commonwealth Office, London, United Kingdom

Brief Bio:

Chris Whomersley was formerly a Deputy Legal Adviser in the United Kingdom's

Foreign & Commonwealth Office, his career spanning thirty-six years and

covering many areas of international law. Chris spent a number of years dealing

with aviation issues, and he was involved in the Channel Tunnel project since its

inception. For the last ten years of his time in the Foreign Office, he was

responsible for policy on international law of the sea. This included dealing with

these issues both multilaterally and bilaterally, as well as in the European Union.

He led the United Kingdom delegations in a number of bilateral negotiations on

maritime delimitation. He was also the leader of the UK delegation to the

International Seabed Authority, and was a member of its Finance Committee. He

was responsible for the arrangements relating to the declaration of an Exclusive

Economic Zone around the United Kingdom, as well as for the law updating UK

legislation on deep sea mining. In June 2014 Chris was honoured by HM The

Queen for his services to international law.

Paper Title:

Flag Sate Jurisdiction in the 21st Century

Abstract:

One of the most firmly established rules in the international law of the sea is that

of the exclusive jurisdiction of the flag State over ships on the high seas. But in

the twenty-first century does the rule need to be reconsidered? In particular, the

rise of open registers, which in practice do not have the resources to exercise

jurisdiction over vessels on the high sea, challenges the efficacy of the rule. How

have States responded to this challenge? Port State control, although little

mentioned in UNCLOS, now plays a key role. This is bolstered by a network of

Memoranda of Understanding, including the Paris one covering Europe and the

Tokyo one covering East Asia, and is now recognized in a major multilateral

agreement, the Maritime Labour Convention. But the ITLOS Advisory Opinion of

2 April 2015 emphasises the continuing importance of the flag State in enforcing

the rules of international maritime law.


Lu Xu, Senior Lecturer in Property Law, Lancaster University, UK

Brief Bio:

Dr Lu Xu is Senior Lecturer in Property Law at Lancaster University. His main

research interests are in property law and land law, as well as private law with a

comparative perspective. Dr Xu grew up in Shanghai and studied law for eight

years in Scotland. Prior to joining Lancaster University, he taught at University of

Strathclyde and University of East Anglia. He was also visiting scholar at a

number of institutions including Shanghai Jiaotong University, Fudan University,

and Deutschen Richterakademie.

Paper Title:

A Case Law System for China and Beyond? Implications for BRI

Abstract:

China typically sees itself as largely following the Civil Law tradition, especially

on private law, and has never recognised any system of case law or any principle

of judicial precedent. There are, however, interesting development within the

judiciary in the past few years, with key initiatives from the Supreme People’s

Court aimed at promoting transparency and consistency within the judicial

system. In a remarkably short space of time, China established the world largest

database of court decisions and made it freely accessible to all. Whether there is

any intention to establish a formal system of case law or precedent, judges and

attorneys at lower court are increasingly influenced by arguments and decisions

raised by their peers in earlier cases.

If China does shift towards a more Common Law mentality, it would have

considerable implications for the balance of the modern world’s legal traditions. It

will significantly change how foreign entities perceive and interact with Chinese

law. It will be a fundamental element in the “soft power” that China seeks to

develop in its international agenda such as the Belt and Road initiative.

international symposium on maritime security and the belt and … · 2020-03-06 · lancashire law...

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