Essex Public International Law Lecture: International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea - Upholding the Rule of Law at Sea

About the lecture 

As the author of the new book, entitled The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Oxford University Press, 2021), Judge Kittichaisaree will discuss the Tribunal’s intended role as the main dispute settlement mechanism for the international law of the sea under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Settlement of Disputes Part of which is the most complicated dispute settlement regime of all currently existing international courts and tribunals. The pros and cons of resorting to the Tribunal as compared with other forums that may have concurrent jurisdiction will be explained. So will the Tribunal’s limitations and unutilized potentials in rendering advisory opinions and judgments in contentious cases, including in new fields such as human rights at sea as well sea-level rise.  

About the speaker

Judge Kriangsak Kittichaisaree is a judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. He was a member of the UN International Law Commission (2012-2016), responsible for the ILC's topic 'Obligation to extradite or prosecute (aut dedere aut judicare)'; Chairman of the UN General Assembly's Sixth Committee's Working Group on the Administration of Justice at the United Nations; and President of the 25th Meeting of States Parties to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, among others. A career Thai lawyer diplomat until the commencement of his 9-year-term judgeship at the Tribunal in October 2017, he served as Director-General of the Department of International Organizations, and, subsequently, Thailand's Ambassador to Iran, Australia, and the Russian Federation. He has taught courses in international law at the University of New South Wales, National University of Singapore, Duke University's Asia-America Institute of Transnational Law, University of Hamburg, and IMO International Maritime Law Institute. His publications include International Criminal Law (OUP 2001), Public International Law of Cyberspace (Springer 2017), The Obligation to Extradite or Prosecute (OUP 2018), International Human Rights Law and Diplomacy (Edward Elgar Publishing 2020), The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (OUP, January 2021), and The Rohingya's Quest for Justice: Can International Law Help? (in progress). He was a member of the International Group of Experts writing the Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations (CUP 2017). 

About the Essex Public International Law Lecture Series

The Essex Public International Law lecture series is founded, hosted and co-chaired by Dr Meagan Wong and Dr Emily Jones based in the School of Law. This is a weekly lecture series featuring judges of international courts and tribunals, leading academics, and practitioners of international law from governmental service, international organizations, and private practice from across the globe. The series prides itself on building on two important intellectual traditions of international law: formalism and international legal practice, and international legal theory including postcolonial and feminist perspectives. 

We welcome all students, academics, practitioners and legal advisors to join us. 

How to register

You can register here for the event which will be held on zoom.

For further information

Please contact Dr Meagan Wong, meagan.wong@essex.ac.uk and Dr Emily Jones, e.jones@essex.ac.uk.