The Chancellor of the University and Professor of International Law in the Department of International Law, Prof. David J. Attard has been re-elected as a Judge of the United Nations International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea, which is the principal judicial organ of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  

This treaty, commonly known as the ‘Constitution of the Oceans’, represents the culmination of the Maltese Law of the Sea initiative of 1967. Professor Attard obtained the highest number of votes. 

On 24 August 2020, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, all the 160 State parties present gave him their vote of approval. Malta’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Vanessa Frazier has noted that he was the only candidate to receive a unanimous vote. He was elected as a Judge representing the Western European and Others Group (WEOG), a group which also includes Australia and Canada. Three years ago, he was elected by his fellow judges as the Vice-President of the Tribunal.

Professor Attard has been a member of the Department of International Law within the Faculty of Laws, University of Malta, for over 30 years and teaches the general course on international law and the law of the sea.  The Academics within the Faculty of Laws warmly congratulate Professor Attard on his re-election: a significant and well-deserved achievement, which is an honour both to our University and our Country.