Friday Lecture: 'Navigating the Interplay of the Innocent Passage Regime with Human Rights Law and Transnational Criminal Law' - Prof Anna Petrig, University of Basel

There is a sandwich lunch at 12.30 pm in the Old Library at the Centre. All lecture attendees welcome.

Lecture summary: The innocent passage regime reflects a delicate balance between the interests of coastal States in asserting jurisdiction over the waters adjacent to their coasts and the interests of flag States in unimpeded navigation therein. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) codifies and stabilises this delicate balance. At the same time, its provisions are drafted in a way that allows the concept of innocent passage to adapt to an evolving legal landscape and shifting priorities in ocean governance.

One area where both the law and its interpretation have developed significantly—and where a certain momentum for change can be observed in the international community—is the protection of people at sea. Over the past decade, the concept of human rights at sea has gained traction and increasing recognition. At the same time, transnational crime at sea has emerged as a major security concern, highlighting the increasing relevance of transnational criminal law in the maritime context. Moreover, there is growing awareness of the links between the commission of transnational crimes and the violation of the rights of persons on board ships.

In light of these developments, it is timely to navigate the interplay of the innocent passage regime with human rights law and transnational criminal law. This lecture will explore two key questions. First, can UNCLOS be interpreted as authorising a coastal State, in certain circumstances, to take action against a foreign-flagged vessel in its territorial sea on the basis that violations of the rights of persons on board render the passage non-innocent? Second, assuming arguendo that UNCLOS does confer such jurisdiction, might international human rights law and/or transnational criminal law even oblige the coastal State to take action in certain cases?

Anna Petrig holds the Chair of International Law and Public Law at the University of Basel and is currently Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor at SOAS University of London. She is the author of several monographs in the fields of the law of the sea, international human rights law, criminal law and general public international law. Anna has been a member of the Swiss delegation and the delegation of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). She was sitting as Judge ad hoc for Switzerland on the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Cases 27 and 29. Anna is currently acting as a board member of the Swiss Maritime Law Association and the Swiss Society for International Law and is a member of the scientific board of the Swiss Society for Military Law and the Law of War. She is Co-Rapporteur of the International Law Association (ILA) Committee on Protection of People at Sea and Chair of the EU-funded project BlueRights - Life, Liberty and Health: Ensuring Universal Protection of Human Rights at Sea (COST Action CA23103).

Chair: Dr Darren Peterson, Centre Fellow

The Friday Lunchtime Lecture series is kindly supported by Cambridge University Press & Assessment.