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International Law and Ocean Law Groups’ Seminar - Ocean Observation Technologies: Regulating the Uncodified

Research
Sustainability and environment

This seminar critically examines the evolving legal and normative status of marine technologies within the broader architecture of ocean governance.

Seminar
Date
24 Oct 2025
Time
14:00 - 15:00
Location
Malmstensvåningen (A6) School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg

Participants
Associate Professor Tafsir Matin Johansson
Organizer
Department of Law

The accelerated deployment of observation technologies and their interaction with the environment, as well as international legal frameworks, pose thought-provoking questions. Both precedent and empirical evidence reveal that any human-made introduction into the marine environment --- whether intentionally deployed or inadvertently abandoned --- contributes to the growing concern. In light of the preceding context, this seminar critically examines the evolving legal and normative status of marine technologies within the broader architecture of ocean governance. Particular attention is given to their classification under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS), the dynamics of techno-regime interactions, and the complex issue of abandonment and relevant abstract concepts --- especially in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ).

About the speaker:

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Tafsir Matin Johansson

Associate Professor Tafsir Matin Johansson joined the World Maritime University (WMU) in 2013 and currently serves as an Associate Professor in Ocean Sustainability, Governance, and Management at the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (WMU-GOI) in Malmö, Sweden.

Currently, he serves as Principal Investigator for the Ocean Technology and AI pillar of the Nippon Foundation’s Future of the Oceans programme, and for a Decarbonization in the Eastern Mediterranean project funded by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation.