Essex Public International Law Lecture: Fireside chat “Negotiating maritime delimitation agreements”

About the fireside chat: 

In her capacity as head of treaties in the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lucía Solano leads the negotiation of all sorts of agreements for her country, including in particular maritime delimitation agreements. Lucía thus brings her insights from the negotiating table and will provide suggestions on how States’ officials should prepare for negotiating these agreements. She will also share her thoughts on what the content of those agreements should be, bearing in mind the interest of States but also new developments in the law of the sea and the concerns of the communities located on both sides of a maritime boundary. 

Although seemingly technical or mathematical, negotiating delimitation lines are really at the heart of the interests of States because such lines ultimately determine the extent of rights and obligations of States in exercising their sovereignty and rights in the sea, within their side of the line. In this chat, Lucia draws to light the legal, political, technical, historical, environmental, and economic elements involved in negotiating maritime delimitation agreements, which have turned this topic into one of the most studied not only by jurists, but hydrographers, geographers, cartographers, and other experts. 

From the experience of a career diplomat, she shares with us the important role diplomats and government officials play in negotiating these agreements on behalf of their States, and the need or pertinence of involving other actors or advisors; as well as the practice of Caribbean States in entering maritime delimitation agreements, having in mind the importance of historical, environmental, and economic considerations, among other, play in entering into these agreements. 

About the speaker: 

Lucía Solano is a Colombian Career Diplomat, international lawyer and head of the Treaty Office - International Law Directorate at the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is also a member of Colombia’s legal team in the cases its country faces before the International Court of Justice which focus on law of the sea and maritime law matters. She is also an advisor of her government on maritime affairs. Between 2013 and 2018 she was designated as legal advisor in the Colombian Embassy in The Hague. Before that, she had been working for three years in the Treaty Office of the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bogotá. She teaches international law, diplomatic and consular law, and law of the sea. She is also a member of the Steering Committee to the Women in International Law Working Group of the American Society of International Law and is in the Advisory Board to the interest group in International Courts and Tribunals of the same Society. She holds an LLM from Georgetown University Law Centre, Washington D.C. 

About the Essex Public International Law Lecture Series

The Essex Public International Law lecture series is founded, hosted and co-chaired by Dr Meagan Wong and Dr Emily Jones based in the School of Law. This is a weekly lecture series featuring judges of international courts and tribunals, leading academics, and practitioners of international law from governmental service, international organizations, and private practice from across the globe. The series prides itself on building on two important intellectual traditions of international law: formalism and international legal practice, and international legal theory including postcolonial and feminist perspectives. 

We welcome all students, academics, practitioners and legal advisors to join us.

How to register

You can register here for the event which will be held on zoom.

For further information

Please contact Dr Meagan Wong, meagan.wong@essex.ac.uk and Dr Emily Jones, e.jones@essex.ac.uk.