Professor Vasco Becker-Weinberg, Dr. iur. (Hamburg), LL.M (Lisbon), lectures at the Faculty of Law of the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa on the law of the sea and ocean governance subjects, as well as at several Portuguese and foreign universities. He is the co-coordinator of the LL.M program at NOVA on The Law of the Sea and the Sea-Economy and a researcher at CEDIS – Centro de Investigação & Desenvolvimento sobre Direito e Sociedade.
He has researched at prominent academic institutions and written and published extensively on the law of the sea. His recent publications include Preliminary Thoughts on Marine Spatial Planning in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, in: Conserving Biodiversity in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, edited by David Freestone (forthcoming), also published in The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, v. 32.
He has been on several delegations to international fora, including the preparatory committee and the intergovernmental conference on the development of an international legally binding instrument under UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. He often advises on law of the sea matters and has been involved in the drafting of policies and legislation on many ocean governance subjects. He was previously Legal Advisor to the Portuguese Secretary of the Sea and a full-time scholar at the International Max Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs at the University of Hamburg.