APPLICATIONS ARE being invited for the 20th Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Fellowship on the Law of the Sea. The award, which has previously been awarded to nationals of Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados, has gained wide acclaim for its academic contribution to the overall understanding and implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The award was named and established in 1981 in memory of Mr. Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe of Sri Lanka, the first president of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. That conference, which began its work in 1973, adopted the convention in April 1982 and opened it for signature in December of the same year. The convention now has 145 parties, and is generally regarded as setting the universally accepted international legal norms for all matters relating to the governance, uses and protection of the oceans.
The fellowship is intended primarily to advance the proficiency and capability of government officials, research fellows or academics from developing countries who are involved in the law of the sea or ocean affairs. It is open to persons aged 25 to 40 with degrees in any of the following areas: law, marine sciences, political science, ocean management; or technical training in ocean management, administration of ports or related disciplines. Applicants should have at least five years working experience.
CLOSING DATE
Closing date for applications is Friday, October 14. Forms can be obtained at and submitted (in triplicate) to the United Nations Information Centre for the Caribbean Area (UNIC), 2nd Floor Bretton Hall, 16 Victoria Avenue, Port of Spain (Tel: 868-623-4813/8438; e-mail: unicpos@unicpos. org.tt) or online at www.un.org/Depts/los where further information is also available.
The programme involves a course of study at a participating university or institution and a period of practical training at the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea in the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. The fellowship is prized for the academic opportunity and the practical experience it provides for the participants.
The fellowship is meant to provide fellows with in-depth knowledge of specific provisions or special regimes of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in order to promote overall its wider appreciation and application, and to enhance specialised experience in those fields.
