Nauru Secretary for Justice appointed to International Seabed Authority

Nauru’s Secretary for Justice Graham Leung has taken up a major representative role with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) based in Jamaica.

Mr Leung officially joined the authority at an event in Jamaica on Tuesday when he presented his credentials to the Secretary General of the ISA, Michael Lodge.

The ISA is responsible under the Law of the Sea Convention for managing the seabed and ocean floor beyond national jurisdiction. The Authority is currently spearheading efforts to finalise exploitation regulations which are expected to be adopted in late 2020.

The authority has granted Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (NORI), a subsidiary of a Canadian company Deep Green Metals, an exploration licence to enable it to conduct tests of the deep seabed in an area known as the Clarion Clipperton Zone on the northern Pacific Ocean floor. The licence was made possible by Nauru’s sponsorship of the company.

Justice Minister David Adeang said the ISA will benefit from Mr Leung’s substantial legal knowledge.

“Mr Leung is serving Nauru well as the Secretary for Justice & Border Control and I was pleased to be able to nominate him for this important advisory role.”

Mr Leung began work in the Crown Law Office in the Fijian capital Suva in 1982 where he rose to the rank of Acting Deputy Solicitor General. In Government service, he served as Fiji’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations based in New York. During that period he worked closely with Ambassador Satya Nandan who was then Chairman of the Conference of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks.

Mr Leung’s international career includes an appointment in Kenya as a consultant for the International Development Law Organisation and as the Director of the Centre for Independence of Judges and Lawyers in the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

Photo Twitter/Micheal Lodge/Caption: Nauru’s Secretary for Justice Graham Leung presents his credentials to the Secretary General of the ISA, Michael Lodge