A year of achievement
On the occasion of World Maritime Day, and exactly one year since its launch, Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) offers its congratulations to the four post-graduate law students who have successfully completed its new summer vacation internship scheme.
The internship scheme crowns a year of achievement for SRI. During the past 12 months, it has recruited some of the best researchers from around the world to conduct three major research projects; it has appointed key figures from intergovernmental agencies, the legal fraternity and the broad maritime industry to the Advisory Board, and it has launched a new web resource aimed at seafarers and those interested in the rights of seafarers.
“It has been an exciting time,” says Deirdre Fitzpatrick, SRI Executive Director. “Since we launched SRI, we have worked hard to establish and develop its reputation as a unique research centre committed to helping seafarers and ultimately, to make shipping a better and safer industry for them.
“SRI is the first pan-industry initiative of its kind that brings together expertise in the shipping industry and the legal world to advance the rights and legal protection of seafarers,” she added. “We see the internship scheme as a key step towards achieving these objectives. At present, there are insufficient opportunities for law students to pursue their education and training in the field of seafarers’ rights. We hope our internship scheme will encourage the study of subjects around this particular field of law and that it will build up the know-how and expertise on this subject.”
The successful applicants for SRI’s 2011 summer internship were from the University of Southampton and the University of Westminster. They were Nigerian-born Elijah Christopher Briggs; Julia Constantino Chagas Lessa from Brazil; Belfast-born Christine Davey, and Serhan Handani from Southampton. With the support of SRI’s closely integrated team of lawyers and other specialists, they worked on live research projects, including the criminalisation and abandonment of seafarers.
As part of its commitment to deliver education and training in the law concerning seafarers’ rights, SRI offers two legal internship schemes: the summer vacation scheme, for undergraduate and post-graduate law students, and newly qualified lawyers; and the stakeholder-sponsored scheme, for members of unions and welfare bodies, and practitioners who already deal with seafarers’ rights.
Applications for the 2012 scheme are being invited from all around the world. Full details of the application process are outlined on SRI’s website.http://www.seafarersrights.org
SRI was launched in September 2010, on World Maritime Day. Through its programme of research, education and training in the law concerning seafarers, SRI works to:
- Promote research, education and training in the legal rights and remedies applicable to seafarers for the purpose of improving the effective protection of seafarers and the safeguarding of their interests;
- Increase interest among lawyers in seafarers’ rights and help them develop expertise across the range of maritime, labour and human rights laws;
- Provide strategic legal support to contribute to political, industrial, campaigning and lobbying agenda towards the promotion, protection and enforcement of seafarers’ rights under a just system of laws;
- Raise awareness on issues of seafarers’ laws, rights and remedies among policy makers, lobbyists, academics, legal practitioners and stakeholders generally in the maritime industry and beyond;
- Establish seafarers’ rights as a standard subject for students of law;
- Identify current issues in the maritime industry concerning seafarers that can be developed further into outreach projects with practical outcomes for seafarers and others working to assist them;
- Produce publications, such as online toolkits, guidelines for lawyers, checklists for seafarers and a dedicated database.
Source: Seafarers’ Rights International
