The Universidade de Coimbra and their Partners: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Instituto Politécnico de Leiria and NTNU Sammfunnsforskning, A.S., organized the event MediMARE: Mediation in Maritime Disputes Final Symposium, dedicated to the MediMare Project.
The Director-General for Maritime Policy, Eng. Marisa Lameiras da Silva, participated online in the event and underlined “the main goal of this project is to create specific competences in maritime mediation, seeking to raise public and private entities awareness of its benefits and to form a body of maritime mediators”.
The Director-General also referred that “the Ocean has no boundaries, and throughout the centuries, it has allowed us to connect with so many different people and cultures. However, disputes often arise among the various stakeholders involved in maritime activities, as well as regarding the use of its resources”.
The MediMare project aims to explore the usage of mediation, an extrajudicial mean of conflict resolution, in maritime disputes. These are of great complexity given the fact that they may involve the application of different laws; they may imply the application or consideration of several professional, corporate, and ethical rules; and they may be relevant for different stakeholders, but also for the wider public and citizens.
Mediation finds in the maritime area a particularly rich field for development, but that is still underexplored.