Can we push back migrants coming by sea? Is there a duty to rescue people who risk drowning at sea? Are there still pirates today, and who can arrest and prosecute them? Is there slavery at sea? If a person is raped on a cruise vessel, who is responsible? And which court or tribunal can judge all these facts? These are some of the questions that this course will address.
If you want to become a lawyer specialising in the protection of people at sea, if you envisage a career in the Italian, European, or international institutions that deal with these cases, if you think of working for the navy or an NGO, if you want to have an insider’s view into how international and EU law can be used to address current issues of the international community, or if you are simply curious to know more about the oceans and the people in them, this course constitutes the first ever course that delves into this new and fascinating topic.
The course will explore how human rights apply at sea, looking at all the different people who can be found at sea, what their rights are, and how can international and EU law be used to protect and ensure these rights. In other words, the objective of the course is to provide advance knowledge concerning the protection of human rights at sea, in their dual substantial and procedural aspects.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, students should:
- better know and understand the nature and sources of international law as it applies to people at sea with the aim to protecting their rights;
- be able to identify and critically assess the implications of those concepts in the substantive exposition of various issues of contemporary practice in the field of shipping, fisheries, and migration;
- demonstrate an in-depth understanding of various international legal instruments;
- demonstrate cognisance of the interface between different aspects of the contemporary international order;
- and be able to provide specific legal advice to state and non-state actors concerning the best ways to effectively protect and promote human rights at sea.

CONTENT
The course addresses the protection of human rights at sea by the international and European legal orders. It addresses the sources of these rights and of the corresponding obligations of states, companies and other actors, issues of jurisdiction, the substantive content of international obligations of states, the remedies that international and EU law provide to victims.

DETAILED PROGRAMME
1-4) Thursday 29 February 2024, 12.30-16.30 (Room 2070)
Introduction to people at sea and their rights
Professor Irini Papanicolopulu, SOAS University of London and University of Milano-Bicocca
5-8) Friday 1 March 2024, 14.30-18.30 (Room 2117)
Identifying the State(s) that must protect human rights at sea
Professor Irini Papanicolopulu, SOAS University of London and University of Milano-Bicocca
9-12) Monday 4 March 2024, 8.30-12.30 (Room U6-29)
Gender considerations in the protection of human rights at sea
Dr Alice Ollino, University of Milano-Bicocca
13-16) Tuesday 5 March 2024, 14.30-18.30 (Room 2070)
Crimmigration in EU and national law
Professor Stefano Zirulia, University of Milan
17-20) Wednesday 6 March 2024, 8.30-12.30 (Room 2070)
The EU legal framework on migration and asylum
Professor Marco Borraccetti, University of Bologna
21-24) Wednesday 6 March, 14.30-18.30 (Room 2135)
Ocean Governance and the Protection of Vulnerable Communities dependent on the Sea
Dr Andrea Longo, SOAS University of London
25-28) Friday 8 March, 8.30-12.30 (Room 2135)
The protection of human rights in the fishery sector: EU and international law
Mr Pierandrea Leucci, European Commission, DG MARE and Ascomare
29-32) Friday 8 March, 14.30-18.30 (Room 2135)
The human rights of seafarers and fishers
Professor Maria Gavouneli, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
33-36) Monday 11 March, 14.30-18.30 (Aula Tribunale)
The maritime dimension of the right to self-determination and independence in practice
Dr Manuel Devers, Cabinet Gilles Devers
37-40) Tuesday 12 March 2024, 14.30-18.30 (Room 2070)
Activism and humanity at sea - The role of civil society
Dr Matilde Rocca, University of Padova
41-42) Wednesday 13 March 2024, 14.30-16.30 (Room 2135)
Remedies for the protection of human rights at sea
Professor Irini Papanicolopulu, SOAS University of London and University of Milano-Bicocca


TEACHING METHODS
Face to face classes.

ASSESSMENT METHODS
Oral exam

TEXTBOOKS
I. Papanicolopulu, International Law and the Protection of People at Sea, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2018, with the exclusion of Chapter 5
Further material will be made available on the e-learning page of the course.