The Graduation Ceremony is the culmination of a very intensive year of studies in all the areas of international maritime law, including international law of the sea, shipping law, marine environmental law, international maritime security law and maritime legislation drafting.

The Ceremony was presided over by Mr. Kitack Lim (Secretary-General, IMO). Many other distinguished personalities were also present, including Honourable Joe Mizzi (Minister for Transport, Malta), Honourable George Vella (Minister for Foreign Affairs, Malta), H.E. Dr. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici (President Emeritus, Malta), Mr. Gabino Gonzalez (Head of Office, REMPEC), Mr. Jim Harrison (Group Legal Director, Lloyd’s Register), Mr. Tom Birch Reynardson (Trustee, CMI Charitable Trust), Mr. Ivan Sammut (Registrar General, Shipping and Seamen, Malta Flag Administration), Ambassador Lino Vassallo (Permanent Representative of Malta to IMO), Mr. Nicolaos Charalambous (Director, IMO Technical Cooperation Division), Mr. Frederick Kenney (Director, IMO Legal Affairs and External Relations Division), Dr. Kofi Mbiah (Chairman, IMO Legal Committee), Mr. Masamichi Hasebe (Senior Legal Counsel, The Japan Association of Maritime Safety), Honourable Joyce Bawah-Mogtari (Deputy Minister for Transport, Ghana), and Professor Francis M.B. Reynolds, Q.C. (Professor Emeritus, University of Oxford).