The Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Commentary and Analysis

by Mossop, Joanna; Freestone, David

• ISBN13: 9780198918578
• ISBN10: 0198918577
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2026-02-11
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Author Biography

Joanna Mossop, Professor, Law Faculty, Victoria University of Wellington,David Freestone, Visiting Scholar, George Washington University Law School

Joanna Mossop is a professor at the Victoria University of Wellington School of Law and an expert in the international law of the sea. She has published widely on a range of issues including maritime security, dispute settlement, and the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. In 2019 the New Zealand government nominated her to the list of arbitrators and conciliators under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. She is a member of boards of several international journals and the co-editor of the Brill monograph series Publications on Ocean Development.


David Freestone is a visiting scholar and former visiting professor at George Washington University Law School. He is Executive Secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission established by the 2014 Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea. He is the founding editor of the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law (now in its 40th year). From 1996-2008 he worked at the World Bank in Washington DC, first as head of the international law group, and from 2004-2008 as Deputy General Counsel/Senior Adviser. In 2007 he was awarded the Elizabeth Haub Gold Medal for Environmental Law.

Table of Contents

PART I Background1. Introduction, Joanna Mossop and David Freestone2. Governance Challenges for the High Seas, Joanna Mossop and David Freestone3. History of the BBNJ Agreement, Nilüfer OralPART II Commentary4. Preamble and Part I: General Provisions, Vito De Lucia and Kristine Elfrida Dalaker5. Part II: Marine Genetic Resources, Konrad Jan Marciniak, Arianna Broggiato, and Judith Gobin6. Part III: Area-Based Management Tools including Marine Protected Areas, Nichola Clark, Kristina Gjerde and Mariamalia Rodriguez Chaves7. Part IV: Environmental Impact Assessments, Kahlil Hassanali and Cymie R Payne8. Part V: Capacity-Building and the Transfer of Marine Technology, Harriet Harden-Davies and Júlia Schütz Veiga9. Part VI: Institutional Arrangements and Part VII: Financial Resources and Mechanism, Kentaro Nishimoto and Le Duy Tran10. Parts VIII to XII: Implementation and Compliance, Dispute Settlement, and Final Provisions, Joanna Mossop and Yubing ShiPART III Perspectives11. Empowering the Global South: The Role of the G-77 in Striving for an Equitable BBNJ Treaty, Qasim Aziz and Fuad Bateh12. The Agreement and Small Island Developing States, Rose Lesley Kautoke, Clement Yow Mulalap, and Vui Gemma Nelson13. A Scientific Perspective on the BBNJ Agreement, Alex David Rogers14. The Agreement and International Environmental Law, Achinthi C Vithanage15. The Agreement and Intellectual Property Law, Abbe Brown and Marcel Jaspars16. Conclusion, David Freestone and Joanna Mossop