On Friday 16 January 2026, the Athens Public International Law Center (Athens PIL), National & Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and the World Maritime University-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (WMU-GOI) co-hosted at the Senate room of the central building of the NKUA a ‘BBNJ Roundtable Seminar’ to celebrate the entry into force on 17 January 2026 of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (‘BBNJ Agreement’). The BBNJ Agreement, which is the third Implementing Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), was adopted on 19 June 2023 by consensus, and it marks a significant milestone for the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity worldwide. Greece ratified the BBNJ Agreement on 9 June 2025.

The participants in the Roundtable Seminar discussed among others: the current status of the BBNJ Agreement and its relationship with other relevant treaties and international organizations; the challenges that lie ahead in terms of implementation of the Agreement both globally and regionally, including in the Mediterranean Sea; the question of Marine Protected Areas that are to be adopted under the Agreement; and finally the transfer of marine technology and capacity building specifically to Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The programme is available here.

This Seminar is another one in the long series of international conferences on topical issues of international concern that Athens PIL Center has organized since its establishment in 2015. For more information on the Center see here: