The Legal Affairs Office of the International Maritime Organization

This chapter delves into the legal and regulatory regimes for shipping and the development of the International Maritime Organization (IMO): the international organization for the regulation of shipping safety and security as well as the protection of the marine environment from the consequences of shipping. The chapter considers the Organization’s purposes, functions, and structure and contemplates its expanding mandate, which has evolved as new treaties have responded to developments in shipping. The IMO is responsible for over 50 treaties; as such, the chapter carefully considers the Organization’s treaty-making and regulatory processes, explaining the origins and considering the specifics of the IMO’s unique tacit acceptance procedure, which is applied in the context of amendments to most IMO treaties. The analysis also provides detailed insight into the roles of the Organization’s Legal Adviser and Legal Affairs Office (LAO), including an overview of the LAO’s structure, functions, and dual role (as general legal counsel and public international law specialist); an insight into the practice of law at the IMO; and an explanation of the LAO’s changing role, which results from the IMO’s contemporary transition from an organization focused on law-making to a body focused on implementation.