Raymond Magorien (3L) delivered first Student Scholars Series lecture of the semester on February 19. Magorien's scholarship, "The Driving Force behind International Maritime Disputes," argued that there is a demand to figure out a solution to the law of the sea.

"We learn the law of the land in law school, but 70 percent of the world is covered in water, 80 percent of people live on the coast that might be affected by global warming and climate change, and 90 percent of trade is through the sea," Magorien said.

Magorien provided a history of international maritime law and discussed The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also known as the Law of the Sea Convention. "UNCLOS is a very detailed attempt to have a standardized maritime law in today's world…it was revolutionary for the time because it anticipated a lot of issues that would arise such a pollution, global warming, and disputes between nations," he said.

Magorien proposed that the United States should ratify UNCLOS. "This gives us an opportunity to claim more territory, and a seat at the table during disputes," he said.

CUA Law Professor and Director of the Comparative and International Law Institute Geoffrey Watson served as the respondent for Magorien's lecture. From 1987-1991, Professor Watson served as an attorney-adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. While at the State Department, Professor Watson specialized in international criminal law and in legal aspects of U.S. policy in the Middle East. He came to CUA as a visiting associate professor in 1995, and he joined the full-time faculty in 1998. Professor Watson is the author of numerous articles on public international law. In addition, he has published a book on the Oslo Accords and co-authored a book on American contract law. He has taught contracts, criminal law, constitutional law, public international law, international human rights law, comparative law, comparative constitutional law, legal issues of the Middle East peace process, and the history of American law.

After the lecture, Magorien and Watson took questions from the audience, and students had the opportunity to engage in conversations with faculty and guests.

The Student Scholar Series was founded by CUA Law Professor Harmon in 2009. It was established in order to recognize notable legal scholarship produced by students during the academic year and to foster the practical skills associated with presenting and defending that scholarship in a professional conference-style setting. Click here to view this presentation on the CUA Law YouTube Channel.