BIO-NOTE
Mr. Mohamed Riyaz Mohamed Hamza
B.A. (Legal Policy), LL.B., LL.M. (IMLI, Malta), LL.M. (Colombo), Attorney-at-Law
The Nippon Foundation Lecturer in International Maritime Security Law

Mr. Riyaz Hamza was called to the Bar as an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, on 19 November 1992.

Mr. Hamza joined the Attorney General’s Department of Sri Lanka as a State Counsel on 1 January 1993 and was promoted as a Senior State Counsel with effect from 3 October 2005.

In September 2001 he was awarded the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Legal Policy Degree by the Open University of Sri Lanka. The broad areas of study included Criminal Justice, Law and Development and Conflict Resolution. He was awarded a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) Degree from the same University in November 2008.

Mr. Hamza obtained a Master of Laws Degree in International Maritime Law from the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), Malta, in May, 2006. His research for his Dissertation was on the topic “Maritime Security – Critical Analysis on Terrorism: a Sri Lankan Perspective”, while his Legislative Draft was on “A Legislation to Introduce to Sri Lanka the International Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976, as amended by the Protocol of 1996”. He was awarded a scholarship by the Nippon Foundation of Japan to pursue his studies at IMLI.

He also read for a second Master’s Degree in Law at the University of Colombo in July 2009. The broad areas of study undertaken by him during this Programme were International Law of the Sea, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Constitutional Law. His research for his Extended Essay (Dissertation) was on the topic “The Continental Shelf Regime and Sri Lanka’s claim to an extended Continental Shelf”.

On an invitation made by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Mr. Hamza organized a National Seminar on the Implementation of the 2005 Convention on Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA Convention), in April 2007, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This seminar was organized in co-ordination with the Directorate of Merchant Shipping Sri Lanka and the IMO and Mr. Hamza functioned as the IMO’s Focal Point.

Yet again on an invitation made by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in February 2008, Mr. Hamza assisted Professor Proshanto Mukherjee, an IMO consultant, in the reviewing and preparation of local Maritime Legislation, with special focus on the enforcement of IMO Conventions ratified by the Government of Sri Lanka.

In July 2008, he was appointed by His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka as a Member of the Presidential Committee on Maritime Matters (PCMM) mandated with the task of reviewing and identifying the problems and concerns pertaining to the Shipping and Port sector in Sri Lanka and to make appropriate proposals and recommendations to overcome such problems and to enhance the country’s image as a major maritime nation. The Chairman of this Committee was His Lordship Justice P.A. Ratnayake, Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, and an alumnus of IMLI.

Mr. Hamza has conducted Lectures in the capacity of a Guest Lecturer at numerous Seminars and Training Programmes in Sri Lanka for Attorneys-at-Law and Law Students and also for Officers of Government Departments and Semi Governmental Institutions with special focus on Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence Law, Constitutional Law and Human Rights Law.

In November 2010, Mr. Hamza joined the Institute’s Faculty as The Nippon Foundation Lecturer in International Maritime Security Law.

He lectures, inter alia, in Public International Law, Law of the Sea, Law of Maritime Safety and International Maritime Security Law and Maritime Legislation Drafting.

Mr. Hamza is a visiting lecturer and a Member of the Board of Examiners at the University of Malta, Faculty of Laws. He also acts as Supervisor and Examiner for the LLD Thesis. He is also a visiting lecturer for the Master of Arts in Ocean Governance Programme of the International Ocean Institute (IOI).

He has also been a Speaker at several International Conferences and Workshops.

Mr. Hamza is a co-editor of the forthcoming IMLI Manual on International Maritime Law.