'On the legal status of maritime spaces and resources: Reflections in the context of the law of the sea' - Dr Konrad Marciniak, ITLOS Judge

Time: 2 pm - 3 pm

This is an in-person event only.

Debates over various types of maritime resources – be it fisheries, offshore gas & oil deposits, mineral resources of the deep sea or marine genetic resources – have formed an integral part of the development of the law of the sea. Arguments have often been put forward focusing on the relationship between the resource in question and the legal status of a given maritime zone. They are formulated in two principal ways: either that the legal status of a given zone should extend to the status of a resource or, conversely, that the status or characteristics of a given resource provide a (legal and/or moral, ethical) rationale for the legal status of a maritime zone where the resource in question is found. The lecture will discuss selected types of resources and maritime zones. 

Dr Konrad Marciniak is a Judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Previously he worked at the Treaty and Legal Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Poland where he was a senior expert on the law of the sea and environmental law (2007-2014), Deputy Director (Deputy Legal Adviser) (2014-2019) and Director (Legal Adviser) (2019-2023). He was also Assistant Lecturer at the Law Faculty, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw (2006-2016); guest lecturer at: Collegium Civitas University in Warsaw, Polish National School of Public Administration, Polish Diplomatic Academy and ITLOS (Nippon programme) (2007-present); Conciliator under Article 2 of Annex V to the Convention; Arbitrator under Article 2 of Annex VII to the Convention; Arbitrator designated pursuant to Article 2(4) of the Schedule to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty; Vice-President to the Bureau of the BBNJ Intergovernmental Conference on an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; Head of the Polish delegation to the EU Working Parties on Public International Law (COJUR; 2019-2023) and on the Law of the Sea (COMAR; 2007-2023) (Chair of the Group in 2011); Head of the Polish delegation to the Council of Europe Committee of Legal Advisors on Public International Law (CAHDI); Co-chair of the Antarctic Working Group of the Polish Intergovernmental Polar Policy Committee.

Dr Marciniak was a Visiting Scholar in 2009.

Commentator: Dr Tom Grant, Centre Fellow