September 16, 2025

5:30 pm 

International Program

What do the South China Sea, the arctic, deep sea-bed extraction, and biological diversity all have in common? The law of the sea touches many topics with both local and global relevance, from questions over state sovereignty and national borders, to utilizing deep sea strip mining to extract the precious resources driving modern technology while mitigating the associated environmental impacts.

Our panel will take to the (law of the) sea, navigating the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”) and the recent agreement under UNCLOS on the Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (the “BBNJ” or “High Seas Treaty”), and how they impact critical national security, economic, and environmental vectors now and in the future. UNCLOS attempts to balance the interests of nations in protecting their sovereignty while allowing for unimpinged international trade, the need to extract rare earth minerals from the seabed necessary for the global economy, and the environmental impact of activities on sea life, from blue whales to plankton.

Our voyage will touch on how UNCLOS and the High Seas Treaty influence critical and pressing issues including disputes in the South China Sea, future disputes over Canada’s quickly materializing Northwest Passage, how and where companies can strip mine the ocean floor, and notably the bounds that the High Seas Treaty imposes or attempts to impose on such activities.

Location: Boies Schiller Flexner LLP 55 Hudson Yards, New York, NY 10001

Program Materials