EUNAVFOR Operation Sophia was launched in summer 2015 in order to combat the smuggling of migrants in the South Mediterranean Sea, as part of a more comprehensive response by the EU to the ongoing and increasing refugee crisis in Europe. Its mandate includes the interdiction of vessels suspected of engaging in the smuggling of migrants …More

A recent agreement (signed on 21 March 2015 but not yet entered into force) between Italy and France on the delimitation of their maritime spaces provides a unique opportunity to discuss the solutions adopted in light of the ‘single maritime boundary’ practice. The new Agreement, on the basis of the customary rules of international law …More

The Arbitral Tribunal rendered its Award in the maritime delimitation dispute between Bangladesh and India in the Bay of Bengal on 7 July 2014. It delimited the parties’ territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, including the area beyond 200 nautical miles. Overall, the Arbitral Tribunal’s approach in delimiting the exclusive economic zone …More

The present article analyses the Arctic Sunrise arbitration, which concerns the lawfulness of the boarding and seizure of the Dutch-flagged vessel, Arctic Sunrise, during a protest against the oil rig Prirazlomnaya in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation. Even though the Arctic Sunrise vessel was three nautical miles from the rig, the Greenpeace …More

After comparing the legal frameworks related to piracy with those of Europe’s main countries, the French legislator recently released a comprehensive set of rules in order to allow ship-owners to embark protection teams aboard merchant ships in an effort to prevent pirate attacks. As this kind of economic activity implies specific skills and liability linked …More

The idea of launching a peer-reviewed journal on specific issues related to maritime security and safety was developed within the framework of Cost Action IS1105 MARSAFENET. This network, founded in 2012, brings together international scholars and experts working on legal aspects of maritime safety and security. The aim of the Maritime Safety and Security Law …More

Maritime spatial planning (MSP) is a process that enhances comprehensive management of marine space in line with the ecosystem-based approach. Initially introduced as a tool for environmental protection and conservation at the national level, it is nowadays associated with the expansion and intensification of human activities, mainly of an economic nature, in offshore waters and …More

The current legal regime regulating activities in outer space does not provide for rules capable of handling the complex process of developing the mining industry in outer space. This article proposes extending the concept of sustainable development to the domain of outer space. The application of sustainable development to outer space can be better understood …More

Over the past several decades, multilateral discussions concerning the law of the sea have resulted in a growing recognition of the importance of maritime resources and space by many of the world’s nations. The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is a comprehensive treaty that went into effect on 16 November …More

This article analyses the Tokyo High Court’s decision of 18 December 2013 in the M/V Guanabara case, which was Japan’s first case on piracy under the Anti-Piracy Act of 2009. It was an appeal submitted by two Somali pirates, who were seized by US forces and transferred to Japan where they were convicted by the …More