23 May 2014 | CIL Seminar Series

This event was supported by Singapore Maritime Institute and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore

An Introduction to Arctic Governance

Introduction

In 2013, Singapore was accepted as one of six new Observers on the Arctic Council. This seminar, the first of three, was designed to provide an introduction to the various aspects of Arctic governance.

In the seminar Captain Roach introduced the geography of the Arctic and the role of the Arctic Council. He also discussed the international law that governs the Arctic, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea Convention and the conventions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The seminar was moderated by CIL Director Robert Beckman and was attended by participants from the government, foreign embassies, business community and academia.

Future seminars will address Arctic boundaries and the IMO’s work on the Arctic.

Seminar Materials

PowerPoint Presentation (PDF format, updated as of 1 June 2014)
Arctic Bibliography (Updated as of 26 May 2014)

About the Speaker

Captain J. Ashley ROACH, JAGC, U.S. Navy (retired) was attorney adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State, from 1988 until he retired at the end of January 2009. He was responsible for law of the sea matters. He has taught, advised and published extensively on national maritime claims and other law of the sea issues, including piracy and armed robbery at sea. He has negotiated, and participated in the negotiation of, numerous international agreements involving law of the sea issues. He received his LL.M. (highest honors in public international law and comparative law) from the George Washington University School of Law in 1971 and his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1963.