HAMILTON SHIRLEY AMERASINGHE
FELLOWSHIP
ON THE LAW OF THE SEA
INFORMATION NOTE
Due to a lack of voluntary contributions to the HSA
trust fund, the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of
Legal Affairs, is currently unable to implement the twenty-second award and has
been constrained to suspend further awards until such a time as the trust fund
is sufficiently replenished (see: A/63/63, paragraph 389; A/63/63/Add.1,
paragraph 302).
Those interested in making voluntary contributions to
the trust fund may contact the
Division directly.
Updated
05 September 2008
HISTORY
OF THE FELLOWSHIP
The
fellowship was established in 1981,in memory of the late Hamilton Shirley
Amerasinghe , the first President of the Third United Nations Conference on the
Law of the Sea (1973-1980), in recognition of his contribution to the
development of the law of the sea(resolution 36/108 of 10 December 1981). The
late Ambassador Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe of Sri Lanka had been Chairman of
the Ad hoc Committee to Study the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and Ocean Floor
from 1967 to 1970 and subsequently, of the Standing Committee for the Peaceful
Uses of the Sea-Bed and Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction,
from 1970 to 1973.
In
resolution 36/108, the Assembly invited Governments, as well as universities,
philanthropic foundations and other interested national and international
institutions and organizations, to contribute to the endowment of the
fellowship.
The
Fellowship Fund received contributions from several Governments and individuals,
and also from the Third World Foundation for Social and Economic Studies, which,
when making its Third World award for 1983, made a significant contribution to
the fund in recognition of the role of Ambassador Amerasinghe and others
associated with the Conference and its successful outcome.
It was
decided that contributions should reach a target figure constituting the capital
which would provide the income needed for the award of at least one fellowship
annually. Further contributions were invited by subsequent General Assembly
resolutions. As contributions are received, depending on the income there from,
additional fellowships could be awarded.
PURPOSE OF THE
FELLOWSHIP
The
fellowship is intended, primarily, for Government officials as well as research
fellows or lecturers who are involved in ocean law or maritime affairs, or
related disciplines, either in Governments or agencies or educational
institutions and bodies. The purpose of the fellowship is to assist candidates
to acquire additional knowledge of the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea, in order to promote its wider appreciation and application, and to
enhance specialized experience in those fields. The selected fellows are
provided with the facilities to undertake research and further study at one of
the participating institutions for a minimum of three to six months and a
further one to three months of internship with the United Nations Division for
Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs. Special
consideration is given to persons who may not have the means or facilities for
further studies, training or experience in their own or other countries. The
fellowship is intended to further the selected fellows in their vocations and
thus to benefit their countries.
PARTICIPATING
INSTITUTIONS
Several
educational institutions are associated with the fellowship programme and have
offered facilities for selected fellows to carry out specialized research and
studies for a minimum period of three to six months. The institutions
participating in the programme are:
-
Centre for Oceans Law and Policy, University of Virginia, U.S.A.
-
Dalhousie Law School, Halifax, Canada
-
Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
-
Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute
of International Studies,
University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Institute of Maritime Law,
University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland
-
Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole,
Massachusetts, United States of America
-
Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law,
Heidelberg, Germany
-
Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea, University of Utrecht,
Netherlands
-
Research Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge, United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
-
Rhodes Academy of Ocean Law and Policy, Rhodes, Greece
-
School of Law, University of Georgia, United States of America
-
School of Law, University of Miami, United States of America
-
School of Law, University of Washington, United States of America
-
William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii, United States
of America
-
International and Maritime Law, University of
Delaware, University of
Delaware, United States of America
SELECTION OF
CANDIDATES AND AWARD OF FELLOWSHIP
Fellowships
are awarded annually and twenty fellowships, as well as five special
fellowships, have been awarded since the commencement of the programme. The
funds for three of these special fellowships have been donated by the Government
of the United Kingdom and one by the Government of Germany. The annual award is
made on the recommendation of an Advisory Panel comprising eminent international
personalities associated with the law of the sea and related matters. On the
basis of the
Guidelines and Rules of the fellowship,
the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, with the assistance of
the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs, carries out the first
review and pre-selection of the candidates. The Advisory Panel evaluates the
final candidates and advises the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, the
Legal Counsel, in the award of the fellowship.
APPLICATIONS
Application forms and Guidelines and Rules are circulated globally, inter
alia, through the courtesy of the offices of the United Nations Development
Programme and through the United Nations Information Centres. They are also
available with the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of
Legal Affairs, Room DC2-0434, 2 United Nations Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017.
Click here to access an Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe fellowship
application form.
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