CILG Lunch Seminar: The Law of the Sea as an Infrastructure: Rethinking Ocean Governance to Foster Global Justice

Description of the seminar

The ocean is critical for humankind. Maritime transport ensures 80% of the global transport of goods, nearly 60% of the world population living on the coasts rely heavily on the ocean for their livelihood, and the ocean is one of the biggest carbon sinks for climate regulation, and the fate of small island states are dependent on sea-level rise. The (ab)use of the marine environment and its resources has contributed to global environmental challenges that tackle the deliverance of ecological services and, thus, widened the global inequality gap. We know, for example, that spill infrastructures are both crucial for international trade and private maritime actors, but their failure has a huge impact on vulnerable countries/communities as well. The law of the sea is a crucial element in that context: enabling, designing, regulating, and maintaining maritime activities while protecting the marine environment. This study will focus on how the concept of infrastructure can unravel hidden relationships within the legal framework (both normative and institutional) through the analysis of the multi-functional and multi-scale nature of maritime activities. It will consider the extent to which oceanic infrastructures take into account and contribute to narrowing the existing inequality gap between advantaged and disadvantaged countries/communities.

Short biography

Vonintsoa Rafaly is a Research Fellow at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen (Denmark), where she conducts multi-disciplinary research on Ocean Infrastructures. Her overall research focuses on rethinking ocean governance to better address global environmental issues, through concepts such as common interest, common concerns, international solidarity and ocean justice. Her field of research and teaching covers international law, the law of the sea, environmental law, and climate change law and the interaction between these field areas.

Registration

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