“Arbitration of Human Rights at Sea: Giving International Law Teeth by Empowering Victims to Enforce It”

London. UK.  This year’s International Law Weekend theme is ‘International Law in Challenging Times’. The 99th Annual Meeting of the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) will take place 22-24 October 2020, with a diverse collection of engaging and provocative panels on contemporary and emerging international law issues.

Human Rights at Sea has been invited to participate in a  panel of senior academics and practitioners on the topic of ‘Arbitration of Human Rights at Sea: Giving International Law Teeth by Empowering Victims to Enforce It‘.

The panel is inspired by Human Rights at Sea Arbitration as a Means of Effective Remedy for Human Rights Abuses at Sea Initiative, an innovative concept originated by Human Rights at Sea and Shearman & Sterling LLP, for using international arbitration as a means for providing victims of human rights abuses at sea with an alternative route to effective remedy and justice.

Panelists are Emmanuel Gaillard, Global Head of Disputes and Global Head of the International Arbitration Practice Group, Shearman & Sterling LLP, Ursula Kriebaum, Professor of Public International Law, University of Vienna, Elizabeth Mavropoulou, Visiting Lecturer in International Law at University of Westminster and Programme Manager at Human Rights at Sea and Irini Papanicolopulu, Assistant Professor of International Law, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca. The panel will be moderated by Anna Petrig, Professor and Chair of International Law and Public Law, University of Basel (Switzerland).

The panel will discuss the challenges of enforcement in the maritime space where human rights abuses occur at sea with disquieting regularity, despite a well-established body of international human rights law. It will particularly focus whether giving victims the ability to enforce rights directly through arbitration can improve human rights protection at sea.

Registration to attend and ILW 2020 Full Program can be found here.