The course addresses the following topics.

1. The international law of maritime boundary delimitations:

• maritime limits vs. maritime boundaries;
• types of maritime delimitations and the relevant provisions of the codified law of the sea;
• the role of international courts and tribunals in the law of maritime boundary delimitations;
• the so-called three-stage approach to maritime boundary delimitation: (1) the median/equidistance line; (2) the special/relevant circumstances leading to the boundary line’s adjustment and the priority of geographical criteria, i.e., the prevention of encroachment, the marked disparity in the length of the States’ relevant coasts, and the distorting effect of marine features on the boundary line; other potentially relevant circumstances and irrevelevant circumstances in maritime boundary delimitation; (3) the disproportionality check;
• situations where the three-stage approach might be inappropriate or inapplicable, with examples in case law;
• special considerations in the delimitation of specific maritime zones: territorial sea, single delimitation of sui generis zones and continental shelf; delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles and the “grey area”.

2. The peaceful settlement of international maritime disputes:

• the basic structure and principles of the dispute settlement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, 1982; UNCLOS) and the multiplicity of fora: the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea; the International Court of Justice; UNCLOS Annex VII arbitration;
• the interlinkage between voluntary and compulsory procedures for dispute settlement;
• the role of experts;
• applicable law;
• preiminary proceedings;
• preliminary objections;
• final decisions;
• limitations to the compulsory procedures;
• optional exceptions to the compulsory procedures.

3. Ocean affairs in selected regional contexts:

• the Black Sea: general overview and current issues; maritime delimitations in the Black Sea; open questions;
• the Mediterranean Sea: general overview and current issues; maritime delimitations in the Mediterranean Sea; open questions;
• the Arctic Ocean: general overview and current issues; maritime delimitations in the Arctic Ocean; the Svalbard regime; the Northwest Passage, the Northern Sea Route and the legal status of the Arctic Straits; the “Polar Code” of the International Maritime Organization; outer continental shelves in the Arctic and the legal implications of seafloor highs and ocean ridges; open questions;
• the protection of the marine environment, legal responses to the impacts of climate change, and the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity from global to regional, with a focus on legal instruments establishing marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures.