Mare Libervm

Taking its title from Hugo Grotius’ book, Mare Libervm (The Freedom of the Sea), published in1605, this film is the latest edition to a series of works that explore the law of the sea. Since 1958 the original Mare Libervm regime has undergone an ongoing series of modifications to become what is now known as the United Nations Law Of The Sea Convention (UNCLOS). This new treaty has permitted a major re-articulation of Coastal State boundaries to now officially include at least a further 200 nautical miles of marine seabed and subsoil. Presently, UNCLOS remains one of the most complex and ultimately successful international diplomatic negotiations of the twentieth century. Shot off the coast of Malta, the film follows a group of commercial fishermen as they discuss the law, their rivals and the weather over a lunch of beef, bread and wine.

Following this we join them through the course of a day as they trawl at a depth of 700 metres before securing what appears to be a marginal reward for their efforts. Given the geographical proximity of neighbouring Libya and Sicily, the case surrounding this area of the Mediterranean proved problematic in the establishment of an equitable delimitation. Furthermore, Malta is regarded as one of the main instigators of UNCLOS following a speech delivered to the U.N. Assembly by its former Ambassador, Arvid Pardo in 1967.