News & Events

Join us on Friday, 14th November 2025, 6-7:30pm at the Royal Irish Academy, Dawson Street, Dublin, for the official launch of Dr Aphrodite Papachristodoulou's new book, Protection of Human Life at Sea in International Law, which has just been published by Routledge.

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About the book

This book launch will celebrate the publication of Protection of Human Life at Sea in International Law: Rescuing Maritime Migrants, which was written in response to the growing concern that human rights violations against migrants at sea are escalating, while international legal responses remain fragmented and contested.

The law of the sea imposes a long-established duty to rescue persons in distress, which connotes one of the most important tools in safeguarding safety of life at sea. Other rules of international law, namely, international human rights and refugee law also come into play in drawing the legal parameters for the conduct of rescue operations.

Amid the thousands of people undertaking perilous sea journeys in search of safety, European legal responses have primarily focused on the securitization of migration. The book exposes the human rights violations that may be perpetrated against migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean and strongly advocates for the development of a framework for operationalizing the protection of human rights – and life – at sea. It combines theory and practice in which philosophical theories of rights are applied to create a framework for legal analysis and the development of practical legal standards. The study presents an innovative evaluation of selected judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and other international human rights bodies pertaining to complex questions of extraterritorial jurisdiction and a State's human rights obligations towards persons in distress at sea.

Speakers
Dr Aphrodite Papachristodoulou (author) Aphrodite Papachristodoulou - University of Galway

Keynote

Professor Siobhán Mullally (University of Galway)

Commentators
Professor Richard Collins (Queen's University Belfast)

Professor Liam Thornton(University College Dublin)

Chair

Dr Andrew Forde (Dublin City University)

The event will be followed by a drinks reception with all participants. The event is supported by the Irish Centre for Human Rights, School of Law, University of Galway and the National University of Ireland.

About the author

Dr Aphrodite Papachristodoulou is Research Associate at the University of Cyprus and Visiting Fellow at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, School of Law, University of Galway. She is a licensed lawyer (Cyprus Bar) and consults on human rights issues to governments, international organizations and NGOs, including the Council of Europe. She is a member of the International Law Association Committee on the ‘Protection of People at Sea’ (Irish Branch) and serves in the Management Committee of COST Action: Life, liberty and health: Ensuring universal protection of Human Rights at Sea (BlueRights).

Click here to register now.

To order: www.routledge.com/9781003568537

For a 20% discount use the discount code 25AFLY3* at the checkout