Prof. Gurdip Singh Delivered A Courtesy Remark on the Opening Ceremony
The Dean of Law School, University of Delhi,India,Prof. Gurdip Singh delivered a Courtesy Remark on the Opening Ceremony.
OPENING SPEECH
It is a matter of great honour to be here with you this morning at the opening ceremony of the summer program of the Xiamen Academy of International Law which is situated in the beautiful city of Xiamen.
As a teacher and researcher for more than three decades, I am delighted to know the mission of the Xiamen Academy which is to equip young lecturers, diplomats, lawyers and officials of international organizations with the cutting edge knowledge of emerging issues in international law.
What really pleases me is that in addition to lectures on public international law, the summer program is focused at new dimensions of international environmental law including biodiversity, law of the sea, new aspects of international economic law, and non-State actors and international law. The role played by ad hoc criminal tribunals and the international criminal court established under the Rome Statute has necessitated the need for the study of international criminal law. I am glad that international criminal law will be discussed during the program.
The monster of environmental pollution is dangerously spreading its wings and threatening the survival of life form on the planet-Earth. Global environmental problems like climate change, loss of biodiversity, depletion of ozone layer, degrading forest cover, acid rain and other forms of trans boundary pollution, marine pollution, and pollution caused by persistent organic pollutants have triggered a mad race between life and death. Death shall win the race and prevail over life if brakes are not applied to growing environmental degradation. It is so exciting and satisfying that the summer program will witness delivery of lectures and thrilling interactions on new dimensions of international environmental law in general and international law of biodiversity in particular.
Law of the sea has shot itself into prominence due to ever increasing importance of the oceans for mankind. In addition to strategic and navigational importance, oceans are of tremendous economic importance for the mankind. The riches of the oceans lie in the seabed and subsoil in the form of manganese nodules which are rich in not only manganese but also in nickel, copper, cobalt etc and hydrocarbon resources. The acquisition of technology to mine the resources of the oceans even at mid oceans by drilling and dredging have made the oceans of tremendous commercial importance to the States who are mainly interested in the mining of manganese, nickel and petroleum products. Accordingly, the study of the international legal regime of international seabed mining contained in U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Prepcom Agreement has assumed significance and importance. The lectures on law of the sea will make the program more relevant and useful. Furthermore, discussions on new aspects of international economic law and non State actors in international law will enhance the academic credibility and scholarly dimensions of the summer program.
The information about the summer program was given to me by my dear friend Prof. Chia-Jui Cheng when he along with his colleagues from Soochow Law School visited Faculty of Law, Delhi University over more than one year back. I am extremely grateful to Prof. Zeng who has officially sent an invitation letter to me and my wife to visit the Xiamen Academy for delivering lectures on New Dimensions of International Law of Biodiversity. The real sheriff of the program is Prof. Huiping Chen who has taken considerable pains and worked patiently but relentlessly in sending mails but making the arrangements to make our stay at Xiamen as comfortable as possible. I place on record the untiring efforts of Prof. Huiping Chen with lot of appreciation in not only translating the program into reality but making it academically successful. The program definitely owes its success to this wonderful person who has been passionately working with exemplary devotion. I am indebted and express my gratitude and thanks to the organizers who have bestowed an honour on me and given me the privilege to be a part of the program. All those present here deserve special thanks for hearing me with patience. Thank you.
(Prof. Gurdip Singh)