Admiralty and Maritime Law, Co-Sponsored by Immigration Law, Insurance Law, International Human Rights, International Law and National Security Law

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The migrant crisis has overwhelmed the international law of the sea just as it has immigration, refugee, and human rights law on land. In 2013, Malta denied entry to M/V Salamis because it was carrying 102 African migrants rescued from a foundering vessel off Libya. Twelve years earlier, Australia had denied entry to MV Tampa and the 438 Afghanis she had rescued from a fishing boat in distress on the high seas. Reports abound of vigilante patrols outside territorial waters turning back migrants approaching a coastal state. What does international law say about these incidents? When it is not vague or ambiguous on these and other life-and-death issues, it often seems out-of-date. This panel will examine the obligations of coastal states, a ship’s duty to give assistance, and the rights of immigrants and refugees at sea in the law of the sea and human rights, refugee, and criminal law.