The Law of the Sea and Democracy by Tom Ginsburg
The law of the sea is not an area of international law that one associates with democracy. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is one of the worlds most broadly acceded-to and effective treaties, incorporating all kinds of states. The central cleavages among these states—coastal vs. maritime powers, developing countries vs. industrialized nations, landlocked vs. those with access to the seas—have only coincidental links with the global division of democracy and dictatorship. Yet, this lecture will argue, the law of the sea has surprising connections with democracy, in that democratic states are enthusiastic users of the UNCLOS system. Furthermore, the oceans, so long thought of as a zone free of national jurisdiction, are increasingly an arena for domestic struggles within democratic countries. The availability of the seas as a space for democratic contestation is shaped by the institutional structures of UNCLOS.
This event is presented by Berkeley Law's Harry & Jane Scheiber Lecture in Ocean Law & Policy.
Event time is 12:45-2 p.m. PT, 2:45-4 p.m. CT