Mr Youri van Logchem was invited to contribute as an external expert to a research project of the British Institute of International and Comparative law (BIICL) titled ‘Law of the Sea – Rights and Duties of States in the Undelimited Maritime Area’ (http://www.biicl.org/undelimited-maritime-area). The project seeks to investigate what the rights and obligations of States are in areas that remain undelimited by way of maritime boundary, with a focus on those areas that, in addition, are not governed by provisional arrangements. Emphasis is placed particularly on the contents and implications of the obligation included in paragraph 3 of Articles 74 and 83 of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, calling on States having overlapping claims and entitlements over the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf to abstain from engaging in unilateral acts that hamper or jeopardise final delimitation.
The Institute is keen to enhance its presence in the field of law of the sea so this initiative is very timely and will enable us to make a positive contribution.