Robert Beckman and Youna Lyons lectured in week 3 at the 2022 Session of the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy. Prof Beckman lectured on Part XII of 1982 UNCLOS on Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment and Youna Lyons lectured on Marine Plastic Debris. The two of them jointly lectured on Marine Protected Areas and conducted a Workshop on the Marine Protected Areas. In addition, Prof Beckman served as one of the examiners for the oral examination at the end of the course.

The Rhodes Academy is an annual three-week training program in law of the sea. It was launched in 1996 has been held every year on the Greek Island of Rhodes, except that sessions could not be held in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid-19. The 2022 Academy was held in person and had 42 participants from various countries, including two members of the CIL research staff, Dr Dawoon Jung and Ms Maria Pia Benosa.

The Faculty at the Rhodes Academy is comprised of leading experts in the law of the sea, including current and past judges from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). The Faculty in 2022 included two current ITLOS judges, Albert Hoffman of South Africa, the current President and Judge Tomas Heider of Iceland as well as two former Presidents of ITLOS – Rudiger Wolfrum of Germany and Vladimir Golitsyn of the Russian Federation.

The Rhodes Academy is presently governed by six Directors who the sponsoring institutions in Germany, Greece, Iceland, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the United States. Prof Beckman is the Director from Singapore, representing the NUS Centre for International Law.