Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE ERL5004

 
TITLE Regulation and Governance for the Conservation of Living Marine Resources

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
MQF LEVEL 7

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Environmental and Resources Law

 
DESCRIPTION The study unit will address:

1. The rights, obligations and interests of States over living marine resources as they have evolved under international law;
2. The definition of "conservation" of living resources, its objectives and constituent elements and the duties of States arising therefrom;
3. The rights and obligations of States in various maritime zones;
4. The conservation of specific marine species under contemporary international regimes namely anadromous and catadromous species, straddling stocks and highly migratory species, marine mammals, sedentary species, non harvestable species;
5. The establishment of Marine Protected Areas as a tool for better conservation and good governance;
6. The international institutional set up as a tool for better governance and for collaboration in the conservation and management of living marine resources;
7. The legal relationship between coastal states and distant water fishing States to ensure compatibility of conservation measures for living marine resources;
8. The role of non legally binding Governance measures and instruments.

Study-unit Aims:

The aim of the study unit is to provide:

1. A comprehensive grounding of the current status of the international law on the conservation of living marine resources;
2. To relate such issues to general international law and politics;
3. To highlight contemporary strengths, gaps and weaknesses in the current regime.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. Comprehend the various jurisdictional powers of States in particular maritime zones over living marine resources;
2. Identify the obligations of States under international law in this respect;
3. Have a critical comprehension of the international legal framework and of the extent it has evolved to meet current exigencies;
4. Evaluate the collaborative regulation of living marine resources.

2. Skills:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. Identify contemporary legal issues relating to the conservation of living marine resources;
2. Apply their knowledge on legal issues to address underlying problems and learn from success stories in regime building for the regional and international governance of living marine resources;
3. Apply legal instruments as a response to scientific information and technology as tools for good governance of the oceans' living resources;
4. Apply thematic legal principles that aim at sustainability of the oceans' living resources namely the ecosystem approach, the precautionary approach and the integrated approach in policy making and the negotiation/formulation of regulatory instruments;
5. Apply the requisite and applicable legal framework in decision making and dispute settlement.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

• Churchill Robin R and Lowe Alan V, The Law of the Sea (3rd edn, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1999)
• Dupuy Rene-Jean and Vignes Daniel, A Handbook on the New Law of the Sea (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht, 1991) vols 1 and 2
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, 10 December 1982, entered into force 16 November 1994) 1833 UNTS 3; 21 ILM 1261 (LOSC)Attard, D.J., ‘The Exclusive Economic Zone in International Law’, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1987)

Birnie, P. and Boyle, A., ‘International Law and the Environment’, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, (2002)
Borg, S., Conservation on the High Seas, Harmonizing Fragmented Regimes for Sustainable Use of Living Resources, Edward Elgar, 2012
Brownlie, I., ‘Principles of Public International Law’, 6th Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, (2003)
Burke W.T., ‘The New International Law of Fisheries, the 1982 UNCLOS and Beyond’, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1994)
Meyers, H., ‘The Nationality of Ships,’ Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague, (1967)
Mc Dougal, M.S. and Burke, W.T., ‘The Public Order of the Oceans’ New Haven Press, New Haven, Connecticut, (1962) (1987)
Orrego Vicuna, F., ‘The Changing International Law of High Seas Fisheries’, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1999)

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture, Seminar & Independent Study

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Presentation SEM2 Yes 25%
Assignment SEM2 Yes 75%

 
LECTURER/S

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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