Course Catalogue

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The Law of the Sea course aims to provide students with a thorough and critical understanding of fundamental rules and principles of the International Law of the Sea, and insights into current problems and developments. The course will provide students with a foundational understanding of the basic legal framework under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The course also explores problems and novel developments in the existing legal regime, like the effects of climate change on the marine environment and oceans governance, illegal fishing, and the regulation of new activities in the 'blue economy' (such as deep seabed mining).

10 2-hour seminars throughout the semester 

LLB students and visiting law students

None.

None.

Students will be required to write 2x 2,500 word essay which will each account for 50% of the final mark for the course.

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

The course aims at providing students with a thorough and critical understanding of fundamental rules and principles of the Law of the Sea as well as developing their legal skills, in particular drafting, communication and problem-solving. In particular the course aims to:

1. enable students to critically to reflect upon the main legal questions concerning oceans governance and contemporary developments in the law of the sea;

2. give the students a thorough understanding of the sources of rights and obligations of states, international organisations, private actors and individuals using the sea;

3. familiarise students with the different fora in which the law of the sea is developed and applied, including international organisations operating at the global and regional level and dispute settlement mechanisms;

4. provide students with experience of working in groups and foster group discussion.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ identify, describe and critically evaluate the core rules and principles of the discipline;

■ be able to critically engage with current problems in the law of the sea (eg pollution, climate change, deep seabed mining, overfishing etc);

■ be able to critically engage with theoretical questions about the law of the sea;

■ demonstrate the ability to construe a legal argument and to present it, orally or in written form

■ apply their knowledge to specific legal problems; in particular, recognise and name the legal issues arising out of specific facts, identify and interpret relevant principles and rules and apply those principles and rules to resolve the issues in the case.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.