LEGN trains Sri Lankan legal professionals
In October 2019, the Development Law Service (LEGN), in collaboration with the Fishing Operations and Technology Branch (FIAO), the Sri Lanka Judges Institute and Attorney General’s Department, delivered a training programme for Sri Lankan judges, magistrates and prosecutors. The training focused on international fisheries law, with particular attention to legal frameworks for combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, fisheries control and enforcement, and the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. Participants also spent a day at sea and were exposed to the challenges of boarding and inspection and enforcement operations at sea, with the Sri Lankan Navy. The field visits reinforced the classroom lessons and were considered the highlights of this training. Participants during the exercise at sea
Participants expressed satisfaction with the training, noting that it has increased their understanding of the international and national fisheries legal frameworks, and of the severe and harmful effects of IUU fishing on sustainability of fisheries resources, as well as of the policy, legal and operational challenges faced in combating such fishing.