Malta's maritime vocation

There was a sea of contentment in the impressive hall of the International Maritime Organisation headquarters in London in the celebration of 20 years from the founding of its International Maritime Law Institute, run at the University of Malta campus, by its founding director David Attard. Invited as a former minister responsible for shipping by the erudite IMO Secretary General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, I decided to attend this important event to share in this significant moment the reaffirmation of Malta's contribution to the international rule of law. That it was beyond doubt.

This institute, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, has been responsible for the postgraduate formation of maritime lawyers from all over the world, many of whom today occupy major roles in their own countries. Imli, as it is known to all, has been and continues to be a major contributor to the international rule of law, to the regulation of the maritime world and to development. Over these two decades, it has made a major contribution to the legal infrastructure of international maritime law in most of the countries of the world.

A brainchild of Prof. Attard, the project was supported by (then) IMO Secretary-General Chandrika Prasad Srivastava and ably fashioned and enthusiastically pushed through by the late Minister Joseph Fenech, without whom overcoming traditional bureaucratic resistance might not have been possible. Dr Fenech remained dedicated to, and active in, Imli throughout his life, well after he had relinquished public office. Imli remains today the best living monument to the foresight of these three gentlemen.

Over these years, the institute has been driven to success by Prof. Attard and, in the words of Mr Mitropoulos, "one cannot talk of Imli without speaking of one man in particular - the institute's esteemed director, Professor David Attard, who not only was instrumental in its creation but who has been central to its development and growth ever since".

Imli, recognised as a centre of excellence of teaching and training in UN General Assembly 2008 Resolution 63/111 on Oceans and Law of the Sea, has developed a network of international consensus and support, becoming a self-sufficient centre of excellence in a very short time since its inception, making no use of the financial safety net that was made available to it by the Government of Malta when it was set up. The chairman of the Nippon Foundation, awarded a special Imli prize at the London ceremony (a large silver dgħajsa tal-latini), was happy to confirm his foundation's full support for the Malta-based international institute, furthering its programmes and its scholarships to students from developing countries.

This Maltese initiative in the maritime field has been a lasting success, not least because it has been nurtured and developed with top-class lecturing and results spreading Malta's name across the oceans. This has also had positive collateral effects on Malta's diplomatic reach, with many a contact from Imli alumni on occasion being put at the service of Malta's diplomatic service - from the Seychelles to India, from Nigeria to the Kingdom of Tonga.

As rightly put by Malta's Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organisation, Ambassador Lino Vassallo, long-serving and ever so strongly authoritative in that organisation, Imli and Malta are irrevocably tied together, further enhancing Malta's image in the maritime field.

Let there be an avviso ai naviganti: Malta is not just one of the largest and most respected maritime flags in the world; it is also intrinsically a maritime nation with a strong maritime vocation. Even the European Union seems to take note of that now, after many long-drawn past "battles of conviction" going back to the structured dialogue with the EU in the mid-1990s.

Imli represents living proof of Malta's commitment to the system of the United Nations Organisation and to serve the rule of international maritime law. The jam-packed hall at the IMO commemorative seminar in London with the participation of ministers, ambassadors, the former Secretary-General of IMO William O'Neill, former ministers, parliamentarians and Imli alumni and fresh graduands from across the world bore witness to the deep appreciation and respect for Imli's achievements. May its success continue.

Dr Frendo is a former Foreign Minister who also served as minister with responsibility for shipping in 1994-1996.