Updated 7.10pm - PN congratulates Prof. Attard

Leading international maritime law professor David Attard has been elected vice-president of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Professor David Attard.

Prof. Attard will serve a three-year term in the post. He has been a member of the tribunal since 2011.

In a statement announcing his appointment, the government said Prof. Attard's achievements built on Malta's long tradition of maritime law expertise, which started when Arvid Pardo began the process that led to the United Nations Law of the Sea with his historic speech at the UN General Assembly 50 years ago.

Mr Pardo was Malta's permanent representative to the UN at the time. His 1967 speech called on the General Assembly to create an international treatry to manage the earth's oceans and seas.

The Oxford-educated Prof. Attard has taught at Yale, Oxford, Sorbonne as well as Rome, Beijing and Malta. He serves as director of the IMO International Maritime Law Institute, which is based at the University of Malta. 

He is a member of Malta's National Order of Merit and has been similarly recognised by the French and Italian governments.

The Nationalist Party also congratuled Prof. Attard on the appointment,  saying his name was synonymous with international maritime law across the globe and that the appointment boosted both his career as well as Malta's international profile.