The annual Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy was held this year in Rhodes, Greece from 28 June to 17 July 2010. The Rhodes Academy is a three week course which aims to bring together distinguished experts in law of the sea and carefully selected students from both government and academia for a concentrated and comprehensive study of modern oceans law. It is jointly organized by five well-renowned institutions, namely, the Center for Oceans Law and Policy, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, the Aegean Institute of the Law of the Sea and Maritime Law, the Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea and the Law of the Sea Institute of Iceland.
Pursuant to a memorandum of understanding between the Rhodes Academy and CIL, CIL sponsored two students to attend the Rhodes Academy this year, Dr Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, Vice Dean of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and Tara Davenport, Research Associate at CIL. CIL’s director, Associate Professor Robert Beckman, also taught three classes on maritime security, the Straits of Malacca and submarine cables. Both CIL sponsored students found the Rhodes Academy an excellent learning experience where they not only learnt from the distinguished faculty which included current and former ITLOS judges but also from the other students who came from a variety of countries and professional backgrounds. Dr Nguyen also did CIL proud by winning the award for the best written exam.