1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will hold the 5th International Conference on the Law of the Sea under the theme of “Regional Cooperation and Marine Environmental Protection under the UNCLOS Regime” in a hybrid online and offline format on December 3 and 4 in order to seek ways to protect marine environment pursuant to the law of the sea and to strengthen cooperation with neighboring countries.

° The International Conference on the Law of the Sea, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has held on an annual basis since 2016, is the largest international academic conference on the law of the sea held in the Republic of Korea with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and the Korean Society of International Law as its co-organizers. The event carries significance in that it supports exchanges among academia and the judiciary on current issues concerning the law of the sea and enhances public interest and understanding of the law.

2. At the upcoming Conference, judges of ITLOS, renowned professors and practitioners will analyze from various perspectives obligations of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) for marine environmental protection and discuss how the law of the sea can enhance cooperation with neighboring countries in protecting and preserving marine ecosystem, which is vital to safeguarding people’s daily lives.

° The event will feature congratulatory remarks by Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ham Sang-wook and a keynote speech by Judge and former President of ITLOS Paik Jin-hyun. Panelists, including four ITLOS Judges, -- Vice-President Tomas Heidar and Markiyan Kulyk -- ad hoc Judge at the International Court of Justice Pemmaraju S. Rao, and Director of the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore Nilüfer Oral, will share diverse viewpoints of academia and the practitioners.

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° Specifically, the event will mainly cover duty of cooperation under the UNCLOS regime, best practices in institutionalizing cross-border cooperation for marine environmental protection, ways for cooperation on marine scientific research in the overlapping maritime area, countries’ efforts for regulation and prevention of marine pollution, and ways for peaceful settlement of marine environmental disputes.

3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects that the Conference will serve as an opportunity to enhance relevant organizations’ understanding on current issues concerning the law of the sea and, in the long term, to strengthen the contribution of the ROK in developing rules and regulations on the law of the sea.

° In order to enable people at home and abroad with an interest in the law of the sea to participate in the Conference, which will be held in a virtual format due to the COVID-19 situation, it will be broadcast in real time through YouTube. For more details, please visit the official website of the event at www.icls.or.kr.