the ireland and wmu-goi
BBNJ CLinic programme
Developing capacity in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and coastal Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to ratify and implement the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement
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The World Maritime University - Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (WMU-GOI) is pleased to implement The Ireland and WMU Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute BBNJ Clinic with the generous funding from the government of Ireland through the Irish Aid Programme. Under the auspices of the BBNJ Clinic, WMU-GOI is dedicated to supporting Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and coastal Least Developed Countries (LDCs) efforts to ratify and implement the BBNJ Agreement.
The Ireland and WMU-GOI BBNJ Clinic is a four-year programme dedicated to collaborating with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and coastal Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to support their efforts to ratify and implement the BBNJ Agreement.
2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
Effective and prompt implementation of the BBNJ Agreement is crucial for ocean sustainability and conservation and to address global inequalities in access to ocean resources. SIDS, characterized as ‘large ocean states’ due to their geographical features and interconnection with and knowledge of ocean ecosystems, as well as coastal LDCs, are among the most important actors in contemporary ocean affairs and could be among the most significant beneficiaries of the Agreement. However, these States can face capacity and resource challenges in implementing the BBNJ Agreement.
Inspired by the law clinic tradition developed and practiced at law schools in the United States and around the world, the programme aims to fulfill both practical capacity development and hands-on educational mandates.
WMU-GOI researchers and external experts, including the lead negotiators of the BBNJ intergovernmental conference, will lead the consultation process facilitated by the Clinic, and facilitate ratification and implementation procedures undertaken by legal advisors, government officials, and relevant stakeholders from SIDS and coastal LDCs.
The Ireland WMU-GOI BBNJ Clinic will be the first of its kind, sitting at a unique intersection between education, practical capacity-development tasks, and vocational clinical legal work.
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The Clinic will administer intensive bi-annual courses for legal advisors and government officials from SIDS and coastal LDCs. The courses will be developed and delivered in partnership with relevant UN level bodies such as the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) and academic institutions. Participants will be selected in consultation with the relevant local government agencies and stakeholders. The thematic focus of the courses will adapt to fit the focus of larger processes underway within the BBNJ Agreement regime as it comes into force and gains institutional life – focusing first on ratification, the setting up of the subsidiary bodies, as well as later on specific topics related to implementation.
The model clauses will be co-developed and implemented in partnership with relevant government agencies and stakeholders in SIDS and coastal LDCs, focusing on adopting and updating their domestic legislation and state practice, to implement provisions of the BBNJ Agreement. This will be carried out by connecting- and building on comparative work on Agreement ratification and implementation previously undertaken at relevant UN bodies and regional and national bodies.
The development and publication of a legal handbook on BBNJ Agreement implementation, drawing on experiences of participants’ in intensive courses, or a series of high profile publications focused on legal aspects of implementation challenges faced by SIDS and coastal LDCs over the lifetime of the project.
The WMU-GOI team will:
- Conduct consultative meetings with relevant government representatives and other stakeholders to synthesize key issues that SIDS and coastal LDCs are facing in ratifying and implementing the BBNJ Agreement;
- Host (side) events, and participate at large high profile international conferences like the UN Oceans Conference;
- Organize academic conferences, workshops, and webinars on selected topics, including a large international facilitation conference in year 4;
- Present the work of the Clinic at universities and at academic events to highlight the innovative work of the Law Clinic, raise awareness on the importance of capacity building, and the complexity and key importance of the extensive work required to implement large multi-topic multilateral treaties such as the BBNJ Agreement.
research strands
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strand 2
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Intensive Courses for Legal Advisors and Government Officials
The BBNJ Clinic administers bi-annual workshops for legal advisors and government officials from SIDS and coastal LDCs. Participants are selected in consultation with relevant local government agencies and stakeholders. These workshops address interconnections between the BBNJ Agreement and the broader international law of the sea, as well as legislative drafting. The workshop faculty is composed of field-leading academics and experts, international officials, and negotiators involved in the BBNJ negotiations.
The workshops are developed and delivered in partnership with relevant UN level bodies such as:
Dr. Zhen Sun
Associate Professor (Research/OSGM)
WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
"The BBNJ Agreement is a significant development for ocean affairs and the law of the sea. Two decades in the making, the adoption of this Agreement demonstrates the strength of multilateralism and global cooperation. For the BBNJ Agreement to function as the tool to ensure the sustainability of areas beyond national jurisdiction, we need all countries’ support. The BBNJ Clinic is an effort to strengthen the capacities of developing States towards becoming parties to the Agreement and implementing it."
Dr. Zhen Sun’s main research interests include the law of the sea, international regulation of shipping, gender equality in ocean governance, climate actions and the protection of the marine environment.
Dr. Ríán Derrig
associate research officer
WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
“The BBNJ Agreement promises a once in a generation opportunity to make using the ocean beyond national jurisdiction fairer, and to conserve it for future generations. The Ireland and WMU-GOI BBNJ Clinic brings the law clinic tradition of putting academic education to practical use to bear on the task, now shared by all, of making good on that promise.”
Dr. Derrig’s research focuses on redistribution through international law, and especially through the law of the sea.
DR. KAHLIL HASSANALI
SENIOR RESEARCHER AT THE
INSTITUTE OF MARINE AFFAIRS IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
“Adoption of the BBNJ Agreement, after nearly two decades of concerted efforts, was a historic accomplishment. SIDS were meaningful contributors to the success of the negotiating process. They fought for and earned opportunities meant to give island nations increased voice, capacity and agency to advance sustainable and equitable ocean management. Now it is important that SIDS remain prominently engaged as the process moves into the next phase of operationalization and implementation of the Agreement. The BBNJ Clinic can be an essential contributor to these efforts.”
Kahlil Hassanali has conducted research focusing on the BBNJ Agreement and its inter-relationship with the blue economy of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Among his other research interests are integrated coastal zone management, regional ocean governance and blue economy.
- Long, R. (2018). 'The Role of the Preparatory Committee and the Progressive Evolution of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Negotiations at the United Nations’, Proceedings of 2018 International Workshop on BBNJ
- Volume 39 (2024): Issue 3 (Sep 2024): Special Issue on Protecting the Ocean: The London Convention and Stockholm Declaration at 50, edited by Ríán Derrig, Ronán Long, Zhen Sun and Aleke Stöfen-O’Brien in The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law
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Phone: +46 40 356 351
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