The Max Planck Foundation welcomed Research Fellows from the ITLOS-Nippon Foundation Capacity-Building and Training Program on Dispute Settlement under UNCLOS.
From 15-19 November 2021, seven Nippon Fellows attended a series of workshops at the Foundation offices in Heidelberg, Germany. These workshops form part of the Capacity-Building and Training Program on Dispute Settlement under the Law of the Sea Convention, run by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in cooperation with the Nippon Foundation.
The Nippon Fellows are junior-mid level government officials and researchers from around the world who are currently working on law of the sea issues. The collaborative training programme at the Foundation aims to assist the Fellow’s research by providing essential legal knowledge and skills, including those related to the dispute settlement mechanisms under Part XV of UNCLOS and wider considerations of dispute resolution.
Concerning the law of the sea, the Foundation provided the Nippon Fellows with in-depth discussions on the role of UNCLOS in managing and settling maritime disputes. Prof Dr Rüdiger Wolfrum, Honorary Director of the Foundation, also delivered two topical lectures on the legal status of bays and developments in the seabed mining regime.
Concerning the work of the Foundation, the programme included an introduction to several ongoing projects at the Foundation on conflict management and resolution. This included the Foundation’s two maritime governance projects, namely, “Promoting Maritime Peace and Security in Southeast Asia”, and “The Implementation of UNCLOS: Supporting Maritime Governance in the Indian Ocean”. It also involved the Foundation’s other projects concerning the constitution-making process and conflict resolution, including projects for Chile, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
Finally, on legal skills, participants had an open discussion on difficulties in conducting legal research and presented the preliminary stages of each Nippon Fellow’s research agenda. The 4-day event successfully provided the Nippon Fellows with a series of lively and in-depth lectures and discussions concerning the management and resolution of conflict.
