One thing that has been a constant in my life, is that I like learning and doing things that are beyong my many limitations… I’m not sure if it is a good thing, and got some “knock outs” from life more than once, yet while more cautious as I get older… I keep trying new things where to get my mind into it! (A girlfriend from my adolescence described that “drive” as “lust for life” in the words of Iggy Pop’s song)
Over the last few years, a got to understand in a more meaningful way that a lot of the work I have been doing in terms of compliance in fisheries is rooted in the Law of the Sea and a series of documents and agreements that are anchored to it.
Yet, I never had any formal education on that topic and my involvement has always been angled from the operational perspective, and normally access to knowledge in that area is restricted to law practitioners and not to ex-fisherman/ fisheries scientists like me.
From talking to knowledgeable people on the topic, they all agree that the best training in that area is the one from the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy in Greece, which is an international collegial institution dedicated to fostering a better understanding of the modern law of the sea. Founded in 1995, the Academy held its inaugural session in the summer of 1996 and operates on an annual basis.
But I was also told that access is really competitive (allegedly 1 in 10 applicants get accepted), not shy of a challenge and with the support, encouragement and amazing reference letters of 3 great people that blessed me with their friendship, namely Michael Lodge (ISA), Audum Lem (FAO) and Rhea Moss-Christian (former Chair of the WCPFC), I applied in 2020… and COVID comes… so the selection process got suspended.
But I got the bug, so last year I apply and got accepted for a very good online training on Ocean Governance organized by the World Bank, in partnership with the University of Melbourne Law School, the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations, and with the International Seabed Authority.
So I applied again this year, and to my delight (and surprise!) I got accepted… so I’m off to Greece on my first trip in over 2.5 years (this has been the longest I've been in one place since I was 17! - 40 years ago)… and i’m really happy about it!
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. The foundations of ancient maritime law are linked to the development of the Rhodian Sea Code (Lex Rhodia), dating to around the 8th century A.D. The roots of modern oceans law are often traced to the early 17th-century treatise by Hugo Grotius titled Mare Liberum (“Freedom of the Seas”). As maritime relations evolved, the concept of the freedom of the seas became the guiding principle under which nations conducted their activities in the oceans’ commons.
Is no hliday tho, each academic session of the Rhodes Academy comprises an intensive three-week course of lectures and seminars leading to a Certificate for all students who attend classes regularly. Students who elect to take and who are successful in passing a final examination are awarded a Diploma. While the curriculum varies somewhat from year to year, a general pattern for the academic program at the Academy is established. Week one is devoted to an introduction, history and overview of the conventional and customary law and practices concerning the modern law of the sea. Week two typically focuses in greater detail on specific topics such as marine resources and delimitation. Week three centres around topics such as navigation and the marine environment. Emphasis is placed on student participation in seminars or workshops dealing with particular cases or topical issues in oceans law and policy.
Three lectures are typically held daily from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Seminars or workshops are given on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. An examination for Diploma candidates is usually offered on Friday afternoons of the second and third weeks.
The Rhodes Academy is a cooperative undertaking by international law experts and sponsoring universities and institutions. The current Directors are Robert Beckman, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore (Singapore); Tomas Heidar, Law of the Sea Institute of Iceland (Reykjavik, Iceland); John Norton Moore, Professor Emeritus, University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia, USA); Alex Oude Elferink, Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea, Utrecht University (Utrecht, the Netherlands); Nikos Skourtos, Aegean Institute of the Law of the Sea and Maritime Law (Rhodes, Greece); and Rüdiger Wolfrum, Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law (Heidelberg, Germany). The School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering at the University of New Hampshire (USA), the Korea Maritime Institute (Busan, Korea) and the Ankara University National Center for the Sea and Maritime Law (Ankara, Turkey) are associate sponsors.