SPIL Mumbai

Introduction The polar regions present unique tests for maritime law: ice-covered waters, shifting geography, fragile ecosystems, navigational uncertainty, and increasing geopolitical competition challenge UNCLOS’s capacity to regulate emerging uses of the Arctic and Antarctic. As climate change accelerates ice melt and opens previously inaccessible waterways, the legal distinction between maritime zones, coastal State rights, and international navigational freedoms becomes contested terrain....

Introduction Contemporary maritime security disputes increasingly involve hybrid tactics, contested sovereignty, and the strategic manipulation of legal ambiguity through coast-guard enforcement, maritime militias, and grey-zone operations. These developments test the resilience of UNCLOS’s navigational freedoms, the stability of maritime boundary doctrines, and the limits of lawful maritime enforcement. As tensions rise in regions such as the South China Sea, Black Sea and Persian Gulf, the...

SPIL Mumbai is delighted to present a conversation with Prof. Philippe Cullet, Professor of International and Environmental Law at SOAS University of London.