Protection of People at Sea

The ILA Committee on Protection of People at Sea will address the emerging issue of how to protect all people who are at sea and their human rights. In its first 4 years, it will focus on the jurisdiction of States for the purpose of protecting people at sea. The Committee will in particular address the following three aspects (a) how notions of “jurisdiction” in human rights law, mostly developed with regards to situations on land, operate at sea; (b) how the concept of jurisdiction under the law of the sea, pointing to allocation of power among States, affects the human rights obligations of these States; and (c) how notions of “jurisdiction” under the law of the sea and human rights law can be combined to maximise protection for people at sea. The Committee will work towards advancing knowledge in the field, producing reports, which illustrate the state of the art in this field as well as addressing the current debate, and issuing recommendations that provide guidance to States and other key actors on the scope of their obligations vis-à-vis people at sea. This newly created Committee will allow the ILA to engage with an emerging topic that is attracting more and more attention from scholars and national and international institutions alike and to take a leading role in the development of international law, as has already happened with many other topics addressed by the ILA.