Foreword by the Co-Editors of the ICLQ Forum on the Law of the Sea

Journal article

This foreword introduces the inaugural International and Comparative Law Quarterly (ICLQ) Forum, a new initiative designed to provide in-depth analysis of a particular field of law within the ICLQ’s sphere of interest. The first Forum focuses on the law of the sea, a subject with which the journal has been closely associated since its inception. The choice of theme reflects both the ICLQ’s historic contributions to maritime scholarship and the renewed urgency of ocean-related legal challenges. The collected contributions examine contemporary developments, including the implementation of the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, climate change and sea-level rise, maritime security, fisheries governance and human rights at sea. Together, they assess the continuing vitality of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as a ‘living treaty’ and interrogate its capacity to respond to shifting geopolitical, environmental and technological realities. Beyond charting doctrinal evolution, the Forum highlights the law of the sea’s systemic significance for the development of international law more broadly. It invites reflection on whether the traditional State-centric framework can sustain effective ocean governance in the face of accelerating global pressures.

Authors: Evans, M; Barnes, R; Roland Holst, R; Yiallourides, C; Kenny, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Journal: International & Comparative Law Quarterly
• Volume: 74
• Issue: S1
• Pages: 1-9
• Publication date: 2025-11-14
• DOI: 10.1017/s0020589325101097
• EISSN: 1471-6895
• ISSN: 0020-5893
• Language: English
• Keywords: autonomous shipping; BBNJ Agreement; ocean governance; plastics; climate change; marine pollution; UNCLOS; maritime boundary delimitation; sea-level rise; law of the sea; maritime security; human rights at sea