Conference Program (as of February 1st 2006)
February 10th & 11th 2006
Friday, February 10thWelcoming and Introduction – 9:15 am
Prof. Harry N. Scheiber, Law, UC Berkeley
Prof. David D. Caron, Law, UC Berkeley
Panel: Radioactive Wastes in the Oceans: Managing the Past and Considering the Future – 9:45 am
An immediate consequence of the nuclear age was the accumulation of radioactive wastes, and for several decades the oceans were the preferred place for disposal. Although the dumping of such wastes is no longer legal, we are left with some ocean areas with significant wastes. In this panel, we look to how former dump site areas may be managed and how the need to dispose of high-level nuclear wastes may return in the form of deep seabed burial.
Chair: Prof. Richard J. McLaughlin, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University
Prof. Malgosia Fitzmaurice, Queen Mary, University of London , United Kingdom
Dr. Daniel J. Fornari, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Prof. Edward L. Miles, Marine Affairs, University of Washington
Break – 11:15 am
Panel: Nuclear Activities and Radioactive Waste in the Arctic – 11:30 am
Perhaps the single most significant source of risk from the presence of nuclear wastes in the oceans stems from Soviet Era dumping of wastes, including reactors, onto the Russian Arctic continental shelf. This panel attempts to sketch out the still largely unclear extent of the issue, discuss possible risks, and outline possible strategies for mitigation.
Chair: John Briscoe, Esq., Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP, San Francisco
Prof. Lakshman D. Guruswamy, Law, University of Colorado
Captain Alexander S. Skaridov (Ret.), St. Petersburg Institute for Ocean Law Studies, Russia
Lunch break – 12:45 pm
Panel: The Legacy of Testing for the Oceans – 2:30 pm
The United States , France , and the Soviet Union all conducted atmospheric, undersea, and underground nuclear bomb testing adjacent to ocean spaces. Knowledge of the legacies of this testing for the ocean environment is fragmented; often relating to one test site, but not others. This panel begins an important task of examining the state of our knowledge concerning testing generally.
Chair: Judge Choon-Ho Park , International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Dr. Laurence Cordonnery, East-West Center , Hawaii
Philip A. Okney, Esq., Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal
Prof. Thomas M. Leschine, Marine Affairs, University of Washington
Break – 3:45 pm
Panel: Ocean Transport of Radioactive Fuel and Waste – 4:00 pm
High-level nuclear waste from nuclear power plants may be reprocessed and reused. The facilities for such reprocessing are few and, as a consequence, high-level nuclear material is currently transported by sea, for example, from France to Japan . Such transport arguably raises both environmental and security risks. This panel examines the law regulating these shipments and the pressure such shipments are making for revision of the ocean regime.
Chair: Commander Glenn M. Sulmasy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Prof. Jon M. Van Dyke, Law, University of Hawai'i
Prof. Miyoshi Masahiro, Law, Aichi University , Japan
Judge Tullio Treves, Law, University of Milan and International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Prof. Todd R. LaPorte, Political Science, UC Berkeley
Saturday, February 11
Panel: Nuclear Weapons and Weapon Grade Material on the Oceans – 9:00 am
The presence of nuclear weapons on vessels, nuclear-powered vessels, and nuclear weapon grade material raises two broad clusters of concerns and policy initiatives. On the one hand, there are the efforts of various nonnuclear states to exclude nuclear-powered vessels or vessels with nuclear weapons from ocean space adjacent to the state. On the other hand, there are the efforts of various states to ensure the integrity of nuclear weapon grade material at sea and to intercept the terrorist shipments of nuclear weapon material. This panel looks at both clusters of concern.
Chair: Prof. Jack I. Garvey, Law, University of San Francisco
Prof. Michael J. Matheson, Law, George Washington University
Prof. Ted L. McDorman, Law, University of Victoria , Canada
Dr. Scott Parrish, Monterey Institute for International Studies
Dr. Mark J. Valencia, Maritime Policy Analyst, Kaneohe , Hawaii
Break – 10:30 am
Roundtable on the Ocean Regime Implications of Security Concerns – 10:45 am
Since the first atomic tests, the nuclear age has pushed at the existing legal regime for the oceans. During testing, for example, a particular issue was the whether atmospheric testing and the closure/use of a significant area of high seas was a legitimate use. The previous panel points out how different states push at the existing zonal structure so as to advance their policy preferences. This roundtable considers how the ocean legal regime is or is not changing and how it may yet change or need to change.
Moderator: Prof. David D. Caron, Law, UC Berkeley
Prof. Craig H. Allen, Law, University of Washington
Vice Admiral Hideaki Kaneda (Ret.), The Okazaki Institute, Japan
Prof. Donald R. Rothwell, Law, University of Sydney , Australia
Prof. Yann-Huei Song, Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica , Taiwan
Lunch break – 12:30 pm
Roundtable on Lessons Learned – 2:00 pm
Moderator: Prof. Harry N. Scheiber, Law, UC Berkeley
Prof. Darleane C. Hoffman, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, UC Berkeley
Judge Anthony Amos Lucky, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Prof. Bernard H. Oxman, Law, University of Miami
Judge Choon-Ho Park , International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Judge Tullio Treves, Law, University of Milan and International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
The organizers gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the following institutions and individuals:
Major Co-Sponsors
Office of Dean Christopher Edley, Jr., Boalt Hall School of Law, UC Berkeley
California Sea Grant College Program
Institute for International Studies, UC Berkeley
Sho Sato Program in Japanese and U.S. Law, UC Berkeley
University of California Marine Council, UC Office of the President
The website underlying the Conference and the Project has been supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation's Crossing Borders Program administered by the Institute of International Studies at UC Berkeley. See www.law.berkeley.edu/centers/ilr/ona/pages/index.htm.
Cooperating Sponsors
Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University
William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawai'i
University of Miami School of Law
University of Sydney School of Law , Australia
University of Washington School of Law
Scott Edelman, Esq. (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Los Angeles ) & Susan Edelman, Esq.
Conference Coordinator
Karen Chin
Conference Assistants
Toni Mendicino
Takeshi Akiba
Anderson Berry
Jordan Diamond
Questions, and requests to receive further information on this Conference or the work of the Institute generally, should be directed to Professors David D. Caron and Harry N. Scheiber; the Directors of the Law of the Sea Institute and Co-Chairs ofthe Conference, or to the institute administrator, Ms. Karen Chin at karenc@law.berkeley.edu
The LOSI web address is www.lawofthesea.org
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much to accomplish, little to lose. For the oceans are vast, deep, and bountful pools of, well water. Water, of course is made up of two p of hydrogen for every one part of oxygen.