The Special Issue, edited by Jorrit Rijpma, Melanie Fink, Kristof Gombeer, and Anna Petrig, contains a selection of contributions from the Conference organized by the Europa Institute on the topic of the EU and Maritime Security in October 2018.
A secure global maritime domain is essential for international prosperity and peace. Ensuring maritime security involves combating threats posed by illicit activities, such as piracy against ships, drug trafficking, smuggling and trafficking in human beings, or illegal fishing, as well as by natural disasters, climate change, or conflict in and around coastal regions. The EU's involvement in this domain goes back to its very foundation but has considerably expanded with new powers in the fields of environment, transport, energy, cross border crime, and migration control.
The role, obligations, and responsibilities of the EU in ensuring maritime security were at the heart of the three-year project 'Policing the high seas: maritime law-enforcement in a multi-actor environment' in the framework of the research profile area 'Interaction between Legal Systems', led by Prof Jorrit Rijpma. In October 2018, the Europa Institute organized a conference in cooperation with four Interest Groups of the European Society of International Law. The event brought together representatives from academia and practice to discuss legal questions concerning EU maritime security.
Following the conference, the Maritime Safety and Security Law Journal has dedicated a Special Issue to 'the EU and Maritime Security', edited by Jorrit Rijpma, Melanie Fink, Kristof Gombeer, and Anna Petrig. The Special Issue aims at exploring some of the EU's powers to act at sea, the obligations it is bound to when doing so, and how its international responsibility may arise in this regard. Thea Coventry (Leiden University), Richard Kilpatrick (Northeastern Illinois University), Lorenzo Gasbarri (University College London), and Borja Montes Toscano (University of Seville) dive into questions concerning powers of interdiction, search and rescue at sea, illegal fishing, and climate change.
The Special Issue is freely available online and can be downloaded here.
Table of Contents:
Jorrit J. RIJPMA, Melanie FINK, Kristof GOMBEER, 'The EU and Maritime Security: An Introduction'
Thea COVENTRY, 'Appropriate Measures at Sea: Extraterritorial Enforcement Jurisdiction over Stateless Migrant Smuggling Vessels'
Richard L. KILPATRICK, Jr., 'Why Evolving European SAR Policies Threaten Merchant Shipping'
Lorenzo GASBARRI, 'The European Union is not a State: International Responsibility for Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Activities'
Borja MONTES TOSCANO, 'The EU Maritime Security Strategy and Climate Change: The Case of Maritime Transportation and New Challenges Ahead'
