The Research Handbook on Ocean Governance Law, edited by Professor Simone Borg, Professor Patricia Vella de Fremeaux and Dr Felicity Attard from the Faculty of Laws, was officially launched on 12 July at San Anton Palace Attard under the auspices of His Excellency President George Vella, who hosted the book launch in the presence of the Judge of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, Professor David J. Attard, Chancellor of the University of Malta, and an International authority on the Law of the Sea, who was the guest speaker.
Both the President and Judge Professor Attard lauded the editors who were also among the 23 contributors, representing all continents, in their endeavour to continue with Malta's long standing tradition in legal research and teaching on the law of the sea as well as the governance of ocean space. The President highlighted the urgent need to protect the oceans from environmental harm inflicted by humans and from illegal nautical activities and the transgression of human rights at sea. Professor Attard referred to the ever urgent need of excellence in legal literature as a source of knowledge and discernment in safeguarding the Rule of Law on the Ocean. He referred to the Internationally-renowned expertise of the three editors in the fields of marine conservation law and maritime security.
Professor Simone Borg spoke on behalf of the editors and referred to the challenges the task of editing such a book, but above all on the enrichment of collating such a comprehensive and vast array of topics on ocean governance. She explained that the chapters of the Research Handbook discuss the complex legal nature of ocean governance as it has waxed and waned over time. The book's layout reflects a more contemporary approach under five parts, namely the Blue Space: that vast ocean space falling within and outside national jurisdiction; the Blue Planet: the earliest and largest habitat on the planet, with its living and non-living resources; the ocean as a complex ecosystem, which requires an integrated approach to ensure its sustainability; the Blue Economy: the ocean as a provider of services and goods, and finally a part entitled the Human Sea: describing the ocean as a medium, which when misused, poses security threats, breaches of human rights and other perilous risks to humanity.
The Research Handbook in Ocean Governance Law, which forms part of a series by the International Publishers Edward Elgar, has been critically appraised as outstanding and authoritative, offering a wide range coverage of both traditional and emerging topics and providing a formidable interface between the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea and other sources of International law regulating ocean governance, while influencing its further evolution through suggestions for future research in the field.
The book has recently been reviewed and acclaimed by Professor Jason Lauter from the University of Plymouth.