IMO International Maritime Law Institute – how it began (1)
This year marks the 35th anniversary since the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), which was established in Malta in 1988, delivered its first LL.M. programme in international maritime law in 1989. Jonathan Pace, who was part of the Malta team leading the negotiations with the International Maritime Organisation, provides a first-hand account of the events that led to the establishment of IMLI.
In May 1987, the newly elected Maltese administration led by Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami had just embarked on a mission to turn Malta into an international services centre. With this in mind, a Ministry for Development of Tertiary sector and a Parliamentary Secretariat for Maritime and Other Affairs were established. The latter, led by Joe Fenech, parliamentary secretary, was tasked with, inter alia, revamping Malta’s maritime legislation, particularly its Merchant Shipping Act, and in turn developing Malta as an international maritime centre of repute.
Soon after the parliamentary secretariat was established, I was fortunate enough to join it initially as a desk officer and later as an administrative officer. In this role, I assisted government officials to transform and promote Malta as an international maritime centre. However, at the time, little did I know that I was to witness and contribute to the birth of IMLI, and experience the exciting days leading to its establishment.
Between September 7 and 11, 1987, the Pacem in Maribus (PIM) XV Conference was held in Malta under the theme ‘The Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Maltese Initiative which led to UNCLOS III’. David Attard, a professor and at the time an adviser to the government, was a speaker at the conference together with the then secretary general Chandrika Prasad Srivastava of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Upon meeting Srivastava, conscious of the Maltese government’s objective to transform Malta into an international maritime centre and of its desire to enhance its relations with international organisations, Attard arranged for Fenech to meet Srivastava for lunch at Mdina.
During lunch, Srivastava, Fenech and Attard ‒ all lawyers and later acknowledged as the founding fathers of IMLI ‒ discussed the Maltese government’s plans for the maritime sector, including its intention to revamp Malta’s participation in the workings of IMO. Aware of the need for the adoption and implementation of international maritime conventions and the transposition of same into national legislation, the Maltese side
proposed the setting up of an institute for the teaching of international maritime law.
Srivastava, who a few years earlier had established the World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmö, Sweden, under the auspices of IMO, was very interested in this proposal as he believed that the proposed institute would indeed be complementary to the WMU, which did not offer specific maritime law courses.
Moreover, the institute, apart from filling a niche training gap, would provide developing countries with their own national capability in maritime law. Srivastava proposed that the institute be established on the same lines as WMU: a separate entity established under the auspices of IMO, enjoying diplomatic privileges and immunities, with the Maltese government providing premises to host the institute and accommodate its students in accommodation similar to that provided by WMU in Malmö.
Both IMO and the Maltese government wasted no time in turning this proposal into reality. Negotiations and follow-up action proceeded in earnest with several meetings taking place between the two sides. Fenech led the negotiations on behalf of the government of Malta, assisted by Attard and supported by John de Gray, head of the parliamentary secretariat for maritime and other affairs; Lino C. Vassallo, assistant head of the parliamentary secretariat, who later became permanent representative of Malta to IMO; Pierre Cauchi, administrative assistant at the parliamentary secretariat; and the author of this article, at the time a desk officer within the said secretariat.
Srivastava led the negotiations on behalf of IMO, assisted by IMO’s senior management team including Thomas Mensah, assistant secretary general and director, legal division, who later became the first president of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), and Leighton van North, director, Technical Cooperation Division.
In January 1988, agreement was reached in principle to establish in Malta an IMO institute for the teaching of international maritime law, with the Maltese government undertaking to provide the premises to house the institute and accommodate its students free of charge. This agreement was approved by the cabinet, which also agreed that the Short Courses Centre, then still under construction within the grounds of the University of Malta, be proposed to IMO as the premises for the institute.
Discussions, followed by an agreement between the government and the University of Malta on the completion and use of the Short Courses Centre, ensued between parliamentary secretary Fenech and Peter Serracino Inglott, then rector of the university. Under this agreement, the Short Courses Centre was put at the disposal of the government by the university to house the institute.
I was entrusted with coordinating the project for the completion, furnishing and equipping of the Short Courses Centre, working in close cooperation with Dennis De Luca, former dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Engineering at the university, and the architect of the Short Courses Centre.
Following a competitive government tender, a turnkey contract was awarded to Vassallo Builders Ltd, which was entrusted to complete the project in good time for the institute to be inaugurated during the last quarter of 1988.
For his part, Srivastava, while continuing the negotiations with the government of Malta, initiated consultations with potential donors who could provide the necessary funding for the running of the institute and, more importantly, for fellowships for duly qualified students from developing countries.
Several meetings also took place between the IMO and the Maltese government, while a number of IMO officials visited Malta for meetings and to view the proposed premises for the institute.
Crucial negotiating points during the bilateral discussions between Malta and IMO included the nature of academic degrees awarded, the designation of the institute as an IMO institute, and the availability of its courses to candidates nominated by governments, in particular of developing countries, who would be appointed to or were already serving with governments or port or shipping organisations.
Negotiations also established that 50 per cent of the student places be reserved for deserving women candidates. This is evidence of the IMO’s early recognition of the importance of enhancing the role of women in the maritime sector.
It was proposed that the institute would have such a student intake that would guarantee as much individual attention as possible, and that the duration of courses be one academic year. Both parties also agreed that two places at the institute be made available each year free of fees to suitably qualified Maltese nationals nominated by the government.
Pace is former deputy director, Technical Cooperation Division, IMO, and former deputy executive director and registrar of ships at the Merchant Shipping Directorate of the Malta Maritime Authority (now Transport Malta).
This article is a revised version of a contribution by the author to the 2019 IMLI publication ‘Celebrating 30 Years in the service of the Rule of International Maritime Law’.