• Lecture
  • Related Materials

Prof. David Freestone

Mr. David Freestone
Professor of Comparative Law
and Jurisprudence
The George Washington University Law School
Former Senior Adviser
Office of the General Counsel
World Bank

Biography Biography in PDF

Law of the Sea
United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea
25 Years of the Law of the Sea Convention –
Has it Been a Success?
In this lecture David Freestone looks back at developments in the twenty-five years since the Law of the Sea Convention was finalized in 1982, particularly in relation to environmental and natural resources issues. He discusses the significance of the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development and the two Implementing Agreements of 1994 and 1995. He then considers new developments in the marine agenda and assesses some of the strengths and weaknesses of the 1982 regime.

Video | Audio
(30/4/2008, 24 minutes)
Law of the Sea
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
25 Years of the Law of the Sea Convention – Has it Been a Success?
A. Legal Instruments
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Montego Bay, 10 December 1982, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1833, p.3.

Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas, Rome, 24 November 1993, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2221, p. 91.

Instrument for the Establishment of the Restructured Global Environment Facility, Geneva, 16 March 1994.

Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982, New York, 28 July 1994, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1836, p. 3.

Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, New York, 4 August 1995, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2167, p. 3.

Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, Paris 2 November 2001, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2562, p. 3.

International Maritime Organization, International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, London, 13 February 2004.

B. Documents
Agenda 21, United Nations Conference on Environment & Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992.

Food and Agriculture Organization, Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, Rome, 31 October 1995.

C. Doctrine
D. Freestone, “A Decade of the Law of the Sea Convention: Is it a Success?”, George Washington University International Law Review, vol. 39(3),2007, pp. 499-542.

D. Freestone/S.M.A. Salman, “Ocean and Freshwater Resources”, in D. Bodansky/J. Brunee/E. Hey (eds.), Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law,Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007, pp. 337-361.

D. Freestone, “Editorial: Twenty-Five Years of the Law of the Sea Convention, 1982-2007”, International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, vol. 22, 2007, pp. 1-4.

D. Freestone, “The Establishment, Role and Evolution of the Global Environment Facility: Operationalising Common but Differentiated Responsibility?”, in: T.M. Ndlaye/R. Wolfrum (eds.), Law of the Sea, Protection of the Marine Environment and Settlement of Disputes: Liber Amicorum: Thomas A. Mensah, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden/Boston, 2007, pp. 1077-1107.

D. Freestone/R. Barnes/D. Ong (eds.), The Law of the Sea: Progress and Prospects, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006, xxxviii + 457 pp.

D. Freestone, “The Role of the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility in the Implementation of the Regime of the Law of the Sea Convention”, in D. Freestone/R. Barnes/D. Ong (eds.), The Law of the Sea: Progress and Prospects,Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006, pp. 308-326.

D. Freestone/A. G. Oude Elferink, “Flexibility and Innovation in the Law of the Sea: Will the LOS Convention amendment procedures ever be used?”, in: A.G. Oude Elferink (ed.), Stability and Change in the Law of the Sea: The Role of the LOS Convention, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden/Boston, 2005, pp. 163-216.

D. Freestone/K. Gjerde (eds.), Deep See Fisheries: Unfinished Agendas, Special Issue of the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden/Boston, 2004.

D. Freestone/W. Edeson/E. Gudmundsdottir, Légiférer pour une gestion durable des pêcheries: Guide de l’Accord de Conformité de la FAO de 1993 et de l’Accord de l’ONU de 1995 sur les Stocks Chevauchants, World Bank Collection Droit, Justice et Développement, Washington D.C., 2004.

D. Freestone/W. Edeson/E. Gudmundsdottir, Legislating for Sustainable Fisheries: A Guide to Implementing the 1993 FAO Compliance Agreement and the 1995 Fish Stocks Agreement,World Bank Law, Justice and Development Series, Washington D.C., 2001.
D. Freestone/G. Mangone (eds.), The Law of the Sea Convention: Unfinished Agendas and Future Challenges, Special Issue of the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, Kluwer Law International, Leiden, 2005.