Société africaine pour le droit international – African Society for International Law

SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE AFRICA – AND THE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF THE SEA

The African Society of International Law (AfSIL) is pleased to announce that its seventh (2018) annual Conference will take place at the Académie malgache, in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on 26 and 27 October 2018. The subject of this year’s Conference is “Africa and the International Law of the Sea.” African States and individuals were at the frontline of the United Nations Conferences on the Law of the Sea that ended in 1982 with the adoption in Montego Bay of the Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS). Since then, African States have been heavily involved in the implementation of UNCLOS, notably by bringing disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Court of Justice, and arbitral tribunals constituted in accordance with Annex VII of the Convention.

The 7th Annual Conference of the AfSIL will seek to explore the most recent trends and developments of the International Law of the Sea, and assess the benefits and challenges that they represent for African States. The conference aims at bringing together prominent academics, policymakers, as well as international arbitration and litigation experts, and providing them with a forum for open discussion about the most significant recent normative and institutional evolutions, as well as on the conceptual and practical unresolved issues which affect the African continent.

The AfSIL invites the submission of abstracts (between 500-700 words) from scholars, practitioners and policy makers. Speakers will be selected on the basis of the quality and originality of their abstracts. Perspectives from different disciplines are encouraged. While abstracts that touch on any dimension of the International Law of the Sea are welcomed, submissions engaging with any of the following six topics are particularly welcomed:

1. Maritime delimitation in Africa — 20th anniversary of the Land and Maritime Boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria (Cameroon v. Nigeria: Equatorial Guinea intervening), ICJ, judgment of 11 June 1998;
2. Legal and strategic issues of the still unresolved disputes over islands opposing African States and their former colonial powers;
3. The Law of the Sea as an instrument for the economic exploitation of the maritime spaces of African States;
4. International legal protection of the marine environment from offshore extractive activities;
5. Maritime security measures and policy cooperation with regard to piracy in Africa; and
6. The effects of sea level rise on the baselines of African coastal states: legal and economic challenges of potential geographic transformations for State actors and foreign investors.

Guidelines for the Submission of Abstracts A
Abstracts between 500-700 words must be submitted by 1 June 2018, via email

• toyenkong.ngangjohhodu@manchester.ac.uk or
• makane.mbengue@unige.ch or
• atorrescamprubi@foleyhoag.com,
• copying info@afsil-sadi.org,

along with the author’s name, affiliation and contact details.

Please indicate in the subject line of the email which topic(s) your abstract corresponds.
Selection of papers will be based on abstracts as assessed through a blind process by a Selection Committee composed of three people. Selected speakers for the conference will be notified by 30 June, 2018, and will be expected to submit a draft paper between 5,000 and 9,000 words by 1 September 2018.

Venue and Expenses
The Conference will be held in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Participants should be prepared to cover their
own expenses.

Relevant Dates

• 01/06/2018: Deadline for the submission of abstracts
• 30/06/2018: Notification of authors
• 01/09/2018: Deadline for submission of papers
• 26-27/10/2018: Conference

Output
It is envisaged that the selected papers will be published as an edited volume

 

AfSIL 7th Conference – Call for papers (pdf)