CIL Participation in 27th Rhodes Academy
CIL participated in the 27th Rhodes Academy on Oceans Law and Policy which was held on the Greek Island of Rhodes from 23 June to 12 July.
CIL Director Dr Nilufer Oral gave a special lecture on “Sea Level Rise and the International Law Commission”. Prof Robert Beckman, who is one of the Directors of the Academy, gave two lectures and served as judge in the oral examination at the end of the course. In addition, Dr Youna Lyons, CIL Associate and former CIL staff member, gave one lecture and led a workshop on the 2023 BBNJ Agreement.
Other lecturers at the Academy included Judge Tomas Heider, the current president of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), and two past presidents of the ITLOS, Rudiger Wolfrum of Germany and Albert Hoffman of South Africa.
There were 48 participants at the 27th Rhodes Academy from all parts of the world. Many were early career or mid-career government officials who work on issues relating to the law of the sea.
Two CIL staff members – Yulu Liu and Joel Ong - attended the academy as participants. Joel Ong received an award for being the top student in the oral examination. In addition, he was one of two participants selected by their peers to give a short address on behalf of the participants at the Awards Ceremony, which was held on the grounds of the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, a medieval castle in the city of Rhodes.
The Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy is an international collegial institution that offers a three-week summer course in Rhodes, Greece. The basic object of the Rhodes Academy is to promote the rule of law in the world’s oceans.
The Academy provides an educational forum for discussion of the principles of modern oceans law and policy, thereby fostering a broader common understanding of and adherence to the rule of law as set out in international agreements and state practice.