George GERAPETRITIS
George Gerapetritis is Minister for Foreign Affairs and Professor of Constitutional Law at the Law School of the University of Athens. He studied in Athens (LL.B.), Edinburgh (LL.M.) and Oxford (D.Phil). He has been a visiting fellow at the University of Oxford and of London (London School of Economics και Institute of Advanced Legal Studies). He has been Fellow of the State Scholarships Foundation of Greece, of the British Council, of the US German Marshall Fund and of the French Council of State.
George Gerapetritis has held important positions in international and national organizations, while he has conducted and participated in several legislative committees. He has addressed more than 100 speeches in international conferences, in Greece, Europe and the USA. He has practiced law before the Greek Council of State, the Court of Justice the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights.
He has published seven books and about one hundred articles and contributions in legal and economic periodicals in English, French and Greek and co-author of two books. Among his latest publications: New Economic Constitutionalism in Europe (Hart Publishing, 2019), European Constitutional History (in Greek, 2nd ed., 2024), Constitution and Parliament (in Greek, 2013).
Dimitrios FAFALIOS
Dimitrios Fafalios serves as President/Director of Fafalios Shipping S.A. since 2008 and Secretary of the BoD of the Union of Greek Shipowners since 2022.
From 1984 to 2008, Mr. Fafalios has held various positions in Fafalios Ltd. London. He has worked closely with many of the major classification societies and international shipping organisations for rule development and implementation.
Mr. Fafalios is Honorary Chairman of Intercargo (1/2019-1/2025: Chairman of Intercargo, since 2009: Chairman of the Technical Committee, since 1999: one of the first members of the Technical Committee).
Mr. Fafalios is also Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Union of Greek Shipowners since February 2022. In addition, he is the Chairman of the Maritime Safety and Marine Environment Protection Committee of the Union of Greek Shipowners.
Mr. Fafalios holds senior positions on ABS, DNV, HCS, ICS, INTERCARGO, LR, NK and UGS committees. Mr. Fafalios has attended IMO on behalf of the Hellenic Republic.
He received his B.Sc. in Naval Architecture and Ship Building from Newcastle upon Tyne University in 1980 and M.Sc. in Ocean Systems Management from MIT in 1982.
In 2023, he received an honorary PhD from the University of the Aegean, Department of Maritime and Business Management.
Tomas HEIDAR
Tomas Heidar (Iceland) is President of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). He has been Judge of the Tribunal since 2014 and was President of the ITLOS Chamber for Fisheries Disputes 2017-2020. He is a Member of the ITLOS Special Chamber in the Dispute concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius/Maldives).
From 1996-2014, Tomas Heidar served as Legal Adviser of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, attaining the rank of Ambassador. As such he was responsible for all matters of public international law and represented Iceland regularly at meetings on ocean affairs and the law of the sea at the United Nations and in other international fora.
Judge Heidar is also Director of the Law of the Sea Institute of Iceland and Co-Director and lecturer of the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy. He lectures at the University of Iceland and many other universities and institutions around the world, including University College London, Queen Mary University of London, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, the IFLOS Summer Academy and the Yeosu Academy of the Law of the Sea. He has taught law of the sea at the United Nations Regional Course in International Law in Ethiopia.
Judge Heidar has published numerous books and articles on ocean affairs and the law of the sea, most recently New Knowledge and Changing Circumstances in the Law of the Sea (ed., Brill Nijhoff, 2020) and “The Contribution of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to the Protection of the Marine Environment” in Korean Journal of International and Comparative Law 9 (2021) 354-369. He is also Conciliator and Arbitrator under Annexes V and VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Lia ATHANASSIOU
Lia Athanassiou is Professor of Commercial Law with senior full-time tenure at the Law School of the University of Athens, teaching mainly Shipping Law, Competition Law, Company Law as well as EU State Aids Law. She is also the Director of the Post Graduate Program on Business Law with a specialization in Maritime Law at the above University.
Professor Athanassiou holds a PhD Degree at the University of Paris I-Panthéon-Sorbonne as well as authorization by the University of Paris I-Sorbonne to supervise University research. She was Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School (2007-08) and Fulbright Scholar (2007-08). She has lectured and effectuated academic research in several foreign Institutions (USA, Malta, UK, Italy, France, Germany).
She is Barrister at law entitled to plead before the Supreme Court with experience in consulting and arbitration and member of member of the Central Mediation Committee.
She has been external legal advisor at the European Commission in matters concerning competition and liberalization in the transport sector, a member of the Hellenic Competition Commission and advisor of Independent Authorities. She is also an appointed member of the Committee of Experts of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Professor Athanasiou also served as President of the Legislative Committee which reformed the Greek Code of Private Maritime Law (Law 5020/2023) and as Member of many legislative committees in several fields of commercial law (corporate law, consumer protection, competition, maritime law, energy law).
She already has extended authorial activity (monographs, publications, participations in collective publications and numerous studies) on issues of European, Maritime, Commercial, Competition and Transport law in general, in English, French and Greek language. Among the more recent books and monographs, “Treatise on Maritime Law” (2nd ed., 2025, in Greek), “Maritime Cross-border Insolvency” (Informa 2018) and “Competition and Regulation in Shipping and Shipping Related Industries” (Martinus Nijhoff, 2009). She also serves as Director of two publication series for Maritime Law, in Greek.
She has made numerous interventions in international and Greek conferences in the same field.
Christos KONTOROUCHAS
Vice Admiral Christos Kontorouchas is First Deputy Commandant of the Hellenic Coast Guard.
After graduating from the School of Law of the University of Athens, he was admitted to the Hellenic Naval Academy in 1997 and graduated in 1998 as Ensign of the Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG). He holds also a Master’s Degree (LLM) in European Law.
He was first posted at the coastguard branch of Zakynthos, as head of port police. He subsequently served in the Hellenic Coast Guard Headquarters in particular, as a desk officer in the Unit for International Organizations and the EU of the Directorate for Shipping Policy and Development, later in the Minister’s cabinet and in the Office of the HCG Deputy Commandant. From 2009 to 2012 he was seconded to the European Commission as a national expert, working on issues of integrated maritime surveillance and maritime policy in the Mediterranean. From 2012 to 2019, he served as Head of the Shipping Policy Unit and of the International Organizations & EU Unit, both in the Directorate for Shipping. From 2019 to 2023 he was appointed Director in the same Directorate. From 2016 to 2023, he served, under parallel duties, as Director of the HCG Personnel Support Fund. In 2023, he was promoted to Commodore H.C.G. and was appointed to the position of Coordinator of the Hellenic Coast Guard Commandant’s Office, a position in which he remained after his promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral H.C.G. in 2024.
On 4.4.2025 he was selected as Senior Deputy Commandant of the Hellenic Coast Guard and promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral.
Kiran KHOSLA
Kiran Khosla, an English qualified solicitor, is the Principal Legal Director and Secretary of the Maritime Law Committee and the Insurance Committee of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). She is responsible for the ICS Legal team and advising member associations on legal, insurance and competition related matters affecting shipowners. The Legal team represents ICS on all legal and insurance issues at the IMO and at other UN agencies as well as the UN itself in New York. It is currently focused, amongst other matters, on the negotiations for a new UN convention on protection of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) and, at the IMO, defending shipowners’ right to limit liability and promoting the fair treatment of seafarers.
Ms. Khosla is also the Company Secretary and deals with corporate governance and compliance issues affecting ICS in addition to her work on regulatory matters.
Prior to joining ICS, Ms. Khosla worked in private practice with a specialist shipping law firm in London and then at a major IG P&I Club, heading the Defence team.
Beatriz VACOTTO
Beatriz Vacotto is the Head of the Maritime Unit in the International Labour Standards Department of the International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland and bears responsibility for issues related to the supervision and implementation of maritime and fishing conventions.
She has played a key role in promoting the Maritime Labour Convention worldwide, supporting the process of amendment of its provisions and enhancing cooperation with the IMO, in particular during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her former experience includes working for the Bureau for Workers’ Activities in Geneva, the ILO training centre in Turin and the Judiciary in Argentina.
Ms. Vacotto graduated as a lawyer in Cordoba, Argentina and later obtained a Masters in International Relationship in the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.
Apostolos KARAGKOUNIDIS
Apostolos Karagkounidis is a Professor of Commercial Law at the Law School of the Democritus University of Thrace and an attorney-at-law registered at the Bar Association of Thessaloniki.
He graduated from the Law School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1989) and obtained a Master’s Degree (D.E.A.) in Business Law (Droit des affaires) from the University of Paris X – Nanterre (1991). He earned his Ph.D. from the Law School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Corporate Law (1996).
He regularly teaches Company Law, Banking Law and Intellectual Property Law at Democritus University of Thrace School of Law and has extensively taught commercial law at the Hellenic National School of the Judiciary.
He has extensively written on various fields of commercial law, particularly on corporate law, capital market law, banking law, commercial contracts law, and intellectual property law.
He has served as member of several legislative drafting committees in Greece, including the legislative drafting committee for the transportation of Directive 2019/2121 on cross-border mergers, and the legislative drafting committee for the transposition of Directive 2022/2464 on sustainability reporting by companies.
He is a member of several Greek legal associations, such as the Association of Greek Commercialists, the Union of Judicial Studies, and the Northern Greece Lawyers’ Society.
He speaks Greek, English, French and German.
Stylianos KOUTNATZIS
Stylianos – Ioannis G. Koutnatzis is Secretary General to the Prime Minister.
After graduating first in his class from the University of Athens Law School (2000), he completed his LL.M. at Harvard Law School (2002) and a doctorate degree in law at the Freie Universität Berlin (summa cum laude honors; awarded the University’s Ernst-Reuter Prize) (2009).
He has worked as Lecturer in Public Law at the Democritus University of Thrace Law School (since 2014; currently on leave), while he has also taught at the University of Athens and Panteion University and served as legal advisor to Greece’s Deputy Finance Minister (2012-2015).
He is also an attorney-at-law (co-founder of the MKlegal law offices) and Member of the Editorial Board of the law journal “To Syntagma” (in Greek).
Stylianos-Ioannis Koutnatzis has received scholarships from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation and the Fulbright Program and he has been appointed Landon H. Gammon Fellow at Harvard Law School. He has published books and articles in Greek, English and German most notably on Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Constitutional Theory.
John KIMBELL KC
John Kimbell KC specializes in all aspects of aviation, shipping and insurance law. Ηe represents a wide range of clients in commercial arbitration (LMAA, GMAA, ICC, LCIA and DIS). He also acts as a commercial arbitrator in London and Hamburg (LMAA, LCIA, ICC, GMAA) and as a commercial mediator. The range of disputes have included, unsafe port, shipbuilding, charterparty, off-hire and sale of goods matters as well as commercial aviation disputes.
In 2015 he took silk, being appointed Queen’s Counsel (now King’s Counsel).. From 2018-2024, he sat as a Deputy High Court Judge in the High Court.
He is able to conduct arbitrations in English or German.
Olivier CACHARD
Olivier Cachard, holding a Doctorate in Law from Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas, serves as Professor and Director of the International Business Law Programme of Nancy University France, where he also served as Honorary Dean of Law from 2005 to 2010. He is also an International Arbitrator & Mediator, Appellate Lawyer – Elected Member of the Bar Council of the Barreau de Metz.
Among his notable publications are Le Droit face aux ondes électromagnétiques (2nded., 2016), Droit international privé (10th ed., 2025), Droit privé européen : l’unité dans la diversité – Convergences en droit de l’entreprise (2012) and Droit du commerce international (3rd ed., 2018).
Gillian GRANT
Gillian Grant joined the IOPC Funds in December 2024 as the HNS Project Manager. In this capacity, she leads initiatives to facilitate the entry into force of the 2010 HNS Convention and the establishment of the HNS Fund.
A qualified barrister and solicitor with advanced degrees in History, Law, and Public Administration, Ms. Grant joined the Canadian Department of Justice in 2022 and held increasingly senior positions, latterly serving as General Counsel to Transport Canada and the Government of Canada’s principal expert in maritime law.
From 2017 – 2024, Ms Grant acted as Canada’s Alternate Representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and as Transportation Counsellor to Canada’s Embassy in Washington, DC. During that period, she represented Canada at meetings of the IOPC Funds’ governing bodies and was elected to serve as Chair of the 1992 Fund Executive Committee from 2019 –2021. She was also Vice Chair of the IMO Legal Committee from 2017-2021 and Chair of the IMO Legal Committee from 2022-2024.
Gaël PIETTE
Gaël Piette is Professor of Maritime Law, Insurance Law and Contract Law at the University of Bordeaux since 2005 and Researcher at CRDEI (Centre de Recherche et de Documentation Européennes et Internationales, Université de Bordeaux) and at IRJS (Institut de Recherche Juridique de la Sorbonne, département Sorbonne-Affaires-Finance, Université Paris 1 – Panthéon Sorbonne).
In 2002 he completed his PhD degree in private law with distinction and the selection committee’s congratulations. From 2003 to 2005 he was lecturer at the University of Franche-Comté.
He is member of the French Maritime Law Association (Association Française du Droit Maritime/ AFDM) and elected member of its Management Committee, member of the Comparative Legislation Society (Société de Législation Comparée – SLC) and of the International Maritime Committee (CMI) working group on unmanned vessels, Delegated Expert of France at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Advisor at the International Maritime and Air Arbitration Court (Casablanca, Morocco). He is Scientific Director of the encyclopedias Lexbase, Droit des contrats spéciaux et Droit des sûretés.
Among his publications are included the following: ‘’Droit maritime’’ (2023) and a great number of publications concerning maritime law in DMF, Gazette de la CAMP, Lexbase, Dalloz, Juris-Classeur, Répertoire commercial.
Nikos KONSTANTINIDIS
Nikolaos Th. Konstantinidis, was born in Piraeus. He graduated from the Law School of Athens University. Ηe acquired a postgraduate diploma in private law «Dea de droit privé» and prepared a Doctorat at the University of Poitiers, in France, 1994, with degree «cum laude» – «très honorable» : « L’ intervention du secteur public dans les entreprises privées en difficulté», published by A. Sakkoulas – Bruylant 1996, with introduction of Prof. Thanassis Liakopoulos.
Dr. Konstantinidis is an attorney at law admitted to practice before the Supreme Court and a member of the Piraeus Bar Association. He has also been a lawyer in the Piraeus Port Authority since 1987 (since 2016, he is Deputy Manager of the Legal Department). In 2003, he represented the Piraeus Bar Association in the «Green Law» Seminar organized by the Madariaga European Foundation in Brussels, presenting the report (in French and English language): « The protection of the marine environment against maritime casualties in European and International Law ». In 2015 he was a speaker in the Conference, organized by the Hellenic Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court, which took place in the Court of Appeal in Athens, in honor of the French delegation « Institute of Higher Security and Justice Studies » (INHESJ), presenting the report in French language: «The impact of economic crisis in the Justice in Greece».
He has generally participated, as a speaker, in a great number of international Conferences of maritime law, organized by the Piraeus Bar Association. He has also published several articles on commercial, maritime and public law in law reviews.
Ioannis IRIOTIS
Ioannis Iriotis is the Managing Partner & Founder of the Firm. Since 2013, he has been the Vice-President of the Hellenic Criminal Bar Association and is regularly elected in the Board. He has also been elected in the Board of the Piraeus Bar Association twice (in 1987 and 1993) and is a member of the Hellenic Association of Penal Law.
He has renowned expertise in criminal defence law with a forty-three years practice in criminal litigation, having handled some of the most high-profile cases in Greece. He specializes in white-collar criminal cases, i.e. financial crimes, naval accidents, maritime criminal cases, maritime financial crimes, corruption cases, money laundering cases, fraud against the interests of the E.U. etc. He represents companies and individuals in sensitive investigations and prosecutions involving accounting fraud, securities fraud, wire and mail fraud, commodities fraud, embezzlement, blackmail, bribery, money laundering, tax evasion, regulatory offences, public corruption, antitrust, perjury, false statements and other white-collar cases. Furthermore, he is highly experienced in criminal matters regarding medical malpractice that caused the injury or death of a patient, as well as cases of criminal negligence resulting in accidents (industrial, shipyard, workplace, traffic, as well as land, air and marine pollution etc.).
He is also an expert in handling criminal proceedings in the aftermath of marine accidents, having successfully represented clients in all major maritime accidents in Greece since 1985. Cases such as M/V CHRISTINAKI, M/V IRON ANTONIS and M/V MARIKA in 1994, M/V PARIS, M/V PEL HUNTER in 1995, M/V DYSTOS in 1996, C-P/F EXPRESS SAMINA in 2000, C/L SEA DIAMOND in 2007 and MS NORMAN ATLANTIC in 2014 are only a few of the iconic trials brought before the Greek criminal Courts, in which he participated as defense attorney. He also represented the main defendants in many comparatively less important naval accidents (deadly or not) of vessels in Greece or of Greek interests across the globe (M/V LEADER L, M/V EUROBULKER X, M/V AEGEAN WIND, F/B LYBERIOS). Moreover, he has been a leading defence lawyer in the criminal investigation and trial of the latest major air disaster in Greece (flight 522 of Helios Airways).
He graduated from the Law School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (LL.B.) and was admitted to Piraeus Bar Association in 1982.
In addition to extensive criminal litigation experience, Ioannis is a regular speaker in criminal law conferences and has published several articles in prestigious Greek criminal law journals.
Francesca PELLEGRINO
Francesca Pellegrino is Full Professor of Maritime and Air Law at the Department of Law, University of Messina, where she also teaches European Union Law.
She has served as Director of the University Centre for Transportation Studies (CUST) from 2012 to 2019 and from 2022 to 2025, and was Coordinator of the Master’s Degree in Law from 2018 to 2021.
She has been Visiting Professor at the World Maritime University of IMO, the Collegio Europeo of Parma, and several Spanish universities under Erasmus+ programs.
She served as Independent Expert for the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and was a member of Italy’s National Scientific Qualification Committee for legal academia. She is a member of several editorial boards and professional associations, including AIDIM (Associazione Italiana di Diritto Marittimo), AIDINAT (Associazione Italiana di Diritto della Navigazione e dei Trasporti), and ALADA (Asociación Latino Americana de Derecho Aeronáutico y Espacial).
Professor Pellegrino has coordinated and participated in numerous national and international research projects focused on maritime and air law and is the author of around 120 publications, including five monographs. She has delivered presentations at academic conferences in Italy and abroad and has served as organizer of numerous International Conferences in cooperation with IMO (International Maritime Organization), ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency), Eurocontrol, ENAC, ENAV, ANSV, ANACNA, General Command of the Harbour Offices etc..
Martin HALL
Martin Hall is a Partner equivalent at Hill Dickinson’s Law Firm offices in London (City) and Piraeus. He is recognized as one of the world’s leading specialists in marine casualty/salvage claims as well as advising on collision, pollution liabilities, general average, transhipment and selling of distressed cargoes, wreck removal, P & I and cargo claims as well as insurance issues. He acts for shipowners, P&I Clubs, property insurers and leading salvors.
He has lectured and written many articles on salvage and general average and spoken at many events. He has presented on many recent Court cases, such as the Supreme Court decisions on ‘RENOS’ and ‘LONGCHAMP’ and has lead the debate on whether the salvage industry is in terminal decline, including presenting a draft of a more commercial version of LOF – ‘LOF Light’.
He is a CEDR (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) Accredited Mediator.
Adrian MOYLAN
Adrian Moylan currently serves as Vice President at Gard AS, where he is responsible for overseeing major marine insurance claims and evaluating recourse options related to hull and machinery (H&M), loss of hire, collisions, and protection and indemnity (P&I) matters. Prior to joining Gard, Adrian worked as a Solicitor at Vogt & Wiig AS, where he specialized in due diligence for sale and purchase transactions and provided legal counsel on rig and shipbuilding contracts. Earlier in his career, he served as a Partner at More Fisher Brown and Richards Butler.
Adrian Moylan attended Clifton College from 1968 to 1973. Adrian then pursued a degree in Law at the University of Cambridge from 1974 to 1977, earning an MA.
Peter MacDonald EGGERS KC
Peter MacDonald Eggers KC is a barrister practising at 7 King’s Bench Walk. He specializes in all aspects of commercial law, with a particular focus on insurance, shipping and transport, energy, commodities and international trade, financial services, professional negligence, and international investment projects. Peter regularly appears before the Commercial Court and the Court of Appeal and in commercial and international arbitrations. Peter has also appeared before Courts in other jurisdictions. Peter also accepts appointments to act as an arbitrator.
In May 2017, Peter was appointed a Deputy Judge of the High Court.
He is co-author of “Good Faith and Insurance Contracts” (4th ed., 2018), “Vitiation of Contractual Consent” (2016) and the “Deceit: The Lie of the Law” (2009). Peter is also a Contributing Editor of “Chitty on Contracts”.
Philippe DELEBECQUE
Professor Philippe Delebecque is a graduate from the University of Aix-Marseille (France) where he obtained his PhD in 1981 for his Doctoral thesis on Exemption clauses in civil and commercial contracts. Since 1992, he was appointed Professor of Private Law at Paris-I (Pantheon-Sorbonne) Sorbonne Law School, where he was also the Director of the Contracts and Real Estate Master for 10 years. Professor Delebecque teaches courses in civil law and commercial Law and has been visiting Professor at the several Universities.
He is member of French Marine Academy and CMI. He is Past President of French Association of Air and Spatial law, Vice President of French Association of Maritime law and President of Maritime Arbitration Chamber of Paris.
He is also an arbitrator at ICC, Paris International Arbitration Chamber and ad hoc arbitrations.
Professor Delebecque was advisor to French government in the UNCITRAL Working Group which prepared the Rotterdam Rules and the Working Group which drafted the Beijing Convention on the judicial sale of ships.
Among his books and monographs are the following: “Droit maritime” (2020), “Droit des obligations: contrat et quasi-contrat’’ (2024), ‘’Contrats civils et commerciaux’’ (2023), ‘’Droit des obligations’’ (2021), ‘’Contrats civils et commerciaux’’ (2019), ‘’Droit des transports’’ (2018), ‘’Droit civil: les sûretés, la publicité foncière’’ (2023), ‘’L’entreprise et la vente internationale de marchandises’’ (2015).
Dimitrios CHRISTODOULOU
Dr. Dimitrios Ph. Christodoulou is Associate Professor of Commercial Law at the Law School of the University of Athens and partner with PH. CHRISTODOULOU & PARTNERS LAW FIRM.
He is a member of the Piraeus Bar Association (1995), qualified to appear before the Supreme Court. He regularly advises on insurance law, marine insurance, maritime law, international trade law and company law and related arbitration. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Maritime Law Association and a member of the CMI Standing Committee on Implementation and Promoting Ratification of Maritime Conventions.
His publications include monographs, chapters in collective books and articles on maritime and insurance law, company law and financial law.
He holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of Southampton, Faculty of Law, a LL.M. degree from New York University School of Law, New York, NY, U.S.A. and a LL.M. degree from Temple University School of Law, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A..
Barış SOYER
Professor Soyer directs the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law at Swansea University, where he currently teaches Admiralty Law, Charterparties: Law and Practice and Marine Insurance on the LLM Programme.
He is a member of the British Maritime Law Association and British Insurance Law Association.
He is the author of “Damages, Recoveries and Remedies in Shipping Law” (2023), “Disruptive Technologies, Climate Change and Shipping” (2022), “Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Shipping: Developing the International Legal Framework” (2021), Marine Insurance Fraud (2014) and “Warranties in Marine Insurance” (2001), and many articles published in journals such as Cambridge Law Journal, Law Quarterly Review, Edinburg Law Review, Lloyd’s Maritime & Commercial Law Quarterly, the Journal of Business Law, the Torts Law Journal and the Journal of Contract Law. “Warranties in Marine Insurance” won the Cavendish Book Prize 2001, and was awarded the British Insurance Law Association Charitable Trust Book Prize in 2002 for its contribution to insurance literature. “Marine Insurance Fraud” also won the latter prize in 2015.
He has also edited a large number of collections of essays on commercial, maritime and insurance law. In addition, he sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of International Maritime Law, Shipping and Trade Law and editorial committee of the Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly (International Maritime and Commercial Law Yearbook).
Nikolaos GERASSIMOU
Nikolaos Gerassimou is a graduate of Varvakeion School, lawyer at the Supreme Court of Greece (Areios Pagos), and member of the Piraeus Bar Association. He holds a Master’s degree in Maritime Law from the University of Southampton, England.
He is the Vice President of the Hellenic Maritime Law Association and a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Association of Maritime Lawyers. He has participated in the Legislative Drafting Committee for the reform of the Private Maritime Law Code (Law 5020/2023), as well as in the Maritime Working Group of the Konstantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy. He is also a member of the International Working Group on Autonomous Ships of the Comité Maritime International (CMI), in which he frequently participates in conferences.
He is the legal advisor to the Board of Directors of HELMEPA and to the Hellenic Shortsea Shipowners Association, and is also a board member and legal advisor to numerous International Bilateral Chambers of Commerce. His practice focuses on general maritime, corporate, and insurance law, including S&Ps and financing transactions, representing both shipping and insurance companies.
He has authored over 50 studies on issues of maritime and energy law and has participated in numerous Greek and international conferences as a coordinator or speaker. Among his recent publications are the following: “The legal regime governing the international maritime transport of cargo and accompanied vehicles without the issuance of a bill of lading” (in reference to the maritime accident of the M/V Norman Atlantic), “The time bar of cargo claims in the carriage by sea”, “The great opportunity for Piraeus after Brexit”, “Offshore Wind Farms”, and “The legal status of autonomous and unmanned ships.” He has also published a book titled “The institutional framework of Greek shipping in relation to the ‘parallel’ registry.”
Miriam GOLDBY
Miriam Goldby currently serves as Professor of Shipping, Insurance, and Commercial Law and Director of Research at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London. She previously served as Director of the Centre’s Insurance, Shipping, and Aviation Law Institute (2019-2022) and was the founder and director of its International Shipping Law LL.M. program (2013-2022).
She played a key role in UNCITRAL WG IV – Electronic Commerce, which led to the adoption of the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records in 2017. Between November 2020 and March 2022,
she was seconded to the Law Commission of England and Wales to contribute to the Electronic Trade Documents project, part of the Commission’s broader Digital Assets Project. She has also contributed to significant research projects, including work undertaken by the Bank of England on InsurTech and by the Law Commission on Anti-Money Laundering.
She holds leadership roles in numerous professional bodies, serving as a member of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) Standing Committee on Carriage of Goods, Vice-Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce UK (ICC UK) Commercial Law and Practice Committee, editor of the British Insurance Law Association (BILA) Journal and member of the BILA Committee and of the Centre for Maritime Law at the National University of Singapore (NUS) which she visited as Visiting Senior Research Fellow in 2019 and as Visiting Professor in January 2023.
She has published extensively in the fields of shipping, insurance, and financial law and is the author of Electronic Documents in Maritime Trade: Law and Practice (OUP).
Henrik RINGBOM
Henrik Ringbom is Head of Research at the Department of Law, Åbo Akademi University, Finland, and part time Professor at the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law at the University of Oslo, Norway.
His previous work experience includes being Head of Unit for Marine Environment, Training and Statistics at the EU Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) (2007-2012) and Administrator at the Maritime Safety Unit of the European Commission (1997-2003).
He has published widely in the field of European and international shipping and environmental law and is co-editor of the book “Autonomous Ships and the Law” (2021).
He is a member of the EMSA Administrative Board and past President of the Finnish Maritime Law Association. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the OneSea Autonomous Maritime Ecosystem (www.oneseaecosystem.net) in Finland, the Regulatory working group of the Norwegian Forum for Autonomous Shipping, and the Comité Maritime International’s international working group on autonomous ships.
George LELOUDAS
Dr George Leloudas is a Professor at the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL) of Swansea University. He is a graduate of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He holds LLM degrees in Commercial Law from the University of Bristol (England, 2002) and in Air and Space Law from the Institute of Air and Space Law of McGill University (Montreal, Canada, 2003). He also completed his PhD degree in air law at Trinity Hall, Cambridge University in 2009.
In 2023, the book “The Montreal Convention: A Commentary” was published, for which he served as the general editor, while his second monograph together with Professor Malcolm Clarke of Cambridge University on Air Cargo Insurance has been published. He has also published (with Prof Baris Soyer) an article on the carriage of passengers by sea in Michigan State University International Law Review in 2018 and an article on IUU fishing (with Prof. Baris Soyer and Dr Dana Miller) in Transnational Environmental Law. He is also one of the editors of the preeminent air law publication, Shawcross and Beaumont, being responsible for the (pax and cargo) liability chapters of the publication.
Regina ASARIOTIS
Regina Asariotis is Chief (a.i.) Trade Logistics Branch and Chief of the Policy and Legislation Section in the Division on Technology and Logistics of UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, where she is responsible for the Secretariat’s mandated work in the field of transport law and policy, including research and analysis, technical cooperation and intergovernmental policy dialogue and negotiations. Substantive areas of work cover a broad range, including international trade and transport law, maritime security, marine environmental law and policy, as well as the implications of climate change for transportation (see http://unctad.org/ttl/legal).
Before joining UNCTAD in 2001, Regina Asariotis was a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Southampton, and member of the Governing Board of the University’s Institute of Maritime Law (IML), where she taught international maritime and trade law for more than 10 years, including as part of the IML’s programme for practitioners in the field of transport and trade.
She holds a law degree from the University of Augsburg, an LL.M. from the University of Southampton and a Dr. jur. from the University of Hamburg and is a practising Barrister (England & Wales) and attorney-at-law (Greece), as well as Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb).
Regina Asariotis has authored and co-authored numerous publications in the field of international maritime and trade law and was a specialist editor of the Journal of International Maritime Law until 2017. She is a visiting professor at the University of Geneva and the University of the Basque country and continues to be involved in the design and delivery of courses for professionals, including on behalf of the Swiss Trading and Shipping Association.
Stefano POLLASTRELLI
Professor Stefano Pollastrelli is a Professor of Maritime Law and Director of the Department of Law at the University of Macerata, as well as a practicing lawyer. He serves as the Coordinator of the University Center for Adriatic-Ionian Maritime Studies and Trans-European Transport. He teaches at the School of Specialization in Legal Professions at the University of Macerata and is a member of the Academic Board of the PhD Program in Legal Sciences at the same university.
Professor Pollastrelli is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Journal of Navigation Law and oversees the scientific coordination of the Quaderni della Rivista del Diritto della Navigazione series. He has authored numerous essays and scholarly contributions in the fields of maritime and transport law.
Konstantinos GALANIS
Dr. Konstantinos Galanis has over 30 years of professional experience. He is a Director at a shipping company for Technical, Operations & Sustainability and since 2015 he is working on further upgrading the QHSE standards at the Group facilities at Aliaga, Turkey.
He is a Lecturer at the Institute of Charterer Shipbrokers, Hellenic Branch teaching Maritime Economics, Educational Counselor and member of the Impact & Crashworthiness Lab for MIT, and Founder of Shipping for Kids. He has also served for 8 years’ onboard ships.
He has taught for several years courses related to Naval Architecture & Marine Hydrodynamics.
He is a member of ABS European & Greek Technical Committees and ClassNK Greek Technical Committee.
He has published several papers at International Journals, Conferences and events and has written several technical reports, projects and a book.
He holds three graduate degrees from MIT, namely PhD in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering and Applied Mechanics, M.Sc. in Ocean Systems Management and B.Sc. in Naval Engineering.
Since 2020 he serves as the Chairman of the International Ship Recyclers Association and from 2023 is member of the BoD of MIT Club of Greece.
Manolis KONSTANTINIDIS
Dr. Manolis Konstantinidis is the manager of the Legal Department of Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Limited, which currently manages 80 vessels. He mainly deals with charterparty disputes, which are in principle arbitrated at LMAA and/ or before local courts all over the world, and cargo claims. He has also dealt with S&P disputes, shipbuilding contracts and corporate financing matters/ disputes.
He obtained his LLB and his PhD from the Law School of the University of Thrace and an LL.M in Maritime Law from the University of Southampton. His interest include carriage of goods by sea, charterparties, bills of lading, general admiratly law, limitation of liability, collisions and general average.
He is attorney-at-law, member of the Piraeus Bar Association, and a supporting member of the LMAA. He is also lecruring on certain aspects of Maritime Law (law of chartperties and collisions) as a guest speaker at the Maritime Law Master Degree in Athens Law School and he is the co-instructor, as external speaker, of Maritime Law at the Msc in International Shipping, Finance and Management in the Athens University of Economics and Business. He has participated in numerous international and national conferences pertaining to Maritime Law.
He has written prolifically in his areas of expertise, including his latest contribution in Maritime Law, L. Athanassiou (2025, in Greek).
Ioannis MARKIANOS-DANIOLOS
John Markianos-Daniolos specializes in maritime and transport law (charter parties, carriage by sea, collision, pollution, salvage, personal injury, foreclosure and arrests, sale and purchase) with particular experience in maritime accidents. He advises and represents maritime companies, P&I
Clubs, insurance companies, classification societies and banks in all sorts of shipping related cases both in litigation and alternative dispute resolution (mediation and arbitration).
John is also involved in Shipping Regulatory Law having participated in the drafting and amendment of relative legislation.
Apart from shipping John represents clients in civil and commercial disputes and real estate transactions.
He is Member and President of the Greek Maritime Law Association and Founding member of the Hellenic Society of Maritime Lawyers.
George SCORINIS
George Scorinis is a lawyer before the Supreme Court and a member of the Piraeus Bar Association since 2001. He obtained his law degree from the Law School of the Athens University (1998) and then an LL.M. in International Business Law from University College London of the University of London (1999).
After receiving work experience at a law firm and a P&I Club in London, he began practicing at Scorinis Law Offices in Piraeus, a firm of which he is now the managing partner. He specialises in Maritime Law, Civil and Commercial Litigation and Arbitration in maritime and commercial disputes, Corporate and Contract Law and Ship Sale and Purchase.
He is a Member of the Board and Deputy Secretary General of the Hellenic Maritime Law Association and a Member of the Board and Treasurer of the Hellenic Association of Maritime Lawyers. George is also a member of the Editorial Committee of “Piraeus Jurisprudence”, the law journal published by the Piraeus Bar Association, an Arbitrator listed in the panel of Arbitrators of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping and often participates in the conferences of the Comite Maritime International. He has been recommended by the international legal guides Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.
George THEOCHARIDIS
George Theocharidis is a Professor of Maritime Law & Policy at World Maritime University.
Member of the Piraeus Law Bar and a qualified advocate before Areios Pagos (Supreme Court) with extensive shipping litigation practice.
Member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Roster of Experts and Member of the Working Group of its Legal Committee pertaining to “Measures to Prevent Unlawful Practices Associated with Fraudulent Registration and Fraudulent Registries of Ships”.
Special counsel to the Union of Greek Shipowners and Ordinary Member of the Law Commission that recently revised the Code of Private Maritime Law (KIND) of Greece.
Joint Rapporteur of the International Working Group of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) on “Liability for the Wrongful Arrest of Ships”.
Supporting Member of the London Maritime Association of Arbitrators (LMAA) and Member of the Hellenic Maritime Law Association.
Author of many books and articles in various fields of law, editorial board member of law journals and invited speaker in many international legal conferences.
Holder of an LL.M. degree from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a Ph.D. from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece).
Alkiviadis FERESIDIS
Alkiviadis Feresidis is a Judge at the Court of Appeal of Athens.
He has served as a Lecturer at the National School of Judges and is a member of the Hellenic Association of Judges and Prosecutors.
He completed his legal studies at the Law School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and holds an L.L.M. in Maritime Law (Southampton, U.K.) and an L.L.M. in International and European Legal Studies (Athens, Greece)
Elissavet SPYROPOULOU
Elissavet Spyropoulou serves as Judge at the First Instance Court of Piraeus. At the same time, she is member of the Board of Administration of the Court of Piraeus.
She has participated in legislative committees, including the Working Group on the ratification of the Beijing Convention on judicial sale of ships from Greece.
She holds an L.L.M. degree from Heidelberg University.
Leonidas DEMETRIADES EUGENIDES
Leonidas Demetriades Eugenides was born in Athens in 1958. He has got B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Athens and M.Sc in Transport Economics from PCL of London. He is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Transport M.C.I.T. He has been elected Member of the Board of the Union of Greek Shipowners as from 1996, Secretary of the Union of the Greek Shipowners from February 2000 through February 2003 and Treasurer from February 2003 through February 2012.
He acted as representative of the Union of Greek Shipowners in UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development). He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Transport and Logistics M.C.I.T., as well as of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. Since May 2018, Leonidas Dimitriadis Eugenides is Maritime Ambassador of IMO (International Maritime Organization.
Leonidas Demetriades-Eugenides is the President of Eugenides Foundation as from 2000. In June 2018 he was named as Honorary Doctor of the Department of Maritime Studies (D.M.S) of University of Piraeus for the multi-faceted and multi-level work that Eugenides Foundation consistently provided for decades in the field of techniques and especially in maritime education.
John Kokarakis
Dr Kokarakis a 1979 graduate of National Technical University of Athens, holds PhD (1986) and Masters degrees in Naval Architecture (1983) and Mechanical Engineering (1984) from the University of Michigan. He worked for over ten years as a consultant undertaking technical problems worldwide. His specialization was in the area of technical investigation of marine accidents. In his capacity as a forensic engineer he participated in the technical investigation of the Exxon Valdez grounding, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the drillship Sea-Crest capsize, the Piper Alpha fire and explosion, the Aleutian Enterprise foundering in Alaska as well as many other accidents of less notoriety.
The last twenty-five years he works in Greece, in the area of classification. He is today the Technical Director of Bureau Veritas in the Southeast Europe Black Sea & Adriatic Zone, responsible for the smooth technical operation in the Zone as well as in the harmonic cooperation with the BV offices worldwide.
He is a member and Fellow of SNAME (Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers). He served in various capacities, being currently the Chairman of the Greek Section since 2014.
Henning JESSEN
Professor Jessen joined the World Maritime University (WMU) in 2016, specializing in Maritime Law and Policy. Since 2018, he has served as Programme Coordinator of WMU’s Postgraduate Diploma in Marine Insurance Law & Practice, and in 2022, he became a member of the Εditorial Βoard of the WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs.
A fully qualified lawyer in his native Germany, Professor Jessen graduated from the University of Kiel in 2002. Supported by a scholarship from the German-American Fulbright Commission, he pursued postgraduate studies in Admiralty and Maritime Law at Tulane Law School in New Orleans from 2003 to 2004. He was awarded his PhD in 2005 by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, graduating with the highest distinction (summa cum laude).
From 2006 to 2008, he served at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. He then held professorial positions in Maritime Law and the Law of the Sea in Germany’s key maritime centers—first in Bremen (2008–2012) and later in Hamburg (2012–2016).
Professor Jessen has co-edited and contributed to a comprehensive commentary on the European Union’s maritime transport regulations. His teaching and research focus on legal aspects of IMO Conventions and related EU law, the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), carriage of goods by sea, marine insurance, international transport law across all modes, and trade facilitation.
Christos MASTROKOSTAS
Christos Mastrokostas was born in Thessaloniki in 1957 and studied at the Law School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, from which he graduated with distinction in 1980. He continued his postgraduate studies at the University of Aix-Marseille in France, where he obtained the diploma of D.E.A. in Business Law. He completed his doctoral thesis, titled “Le sort des engagements souscrits au nom d’une société pendant sa période de formation en droit français et en droit hellénique” (“The obligations undertaken on behalf of a company during
its pre-incorporation stage in French and Greek law”), with a grade of honours in 1985. Since 1982, he has also been a member of the Thessaloniki Bar Association.
At Democritus University of Thrace, he has developed a multi-level career. He is a Full Professor in the Department of Business and Labor Law at the Law School and a member of the Department’s General Assembly since 1991, while he has served as its representative in the University Senate (2008–2009). He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Property Management and Development Company of the Democritus University of Thrace and Deputy Managing Director (1998–2003), as well as a member of several committees, including the Internal Evaluation Committee of the Law School. Moreover, he served as a member of the Deanship for two terms (2014–2015 and 2016–2017).
At the same time, he participates in the Inter-University Postgraduate Program “Law and Informatics,” both as a member of the Special Interdepartmental Committee and of the Coordinating Committee.
Chrissoula PLATIA
Judge Chrissoula Platia graduated from the Law School of the University of Athens. In 1991, she entered the Judicial Branch and was appointed as an Assistant Judge at the Court of First Instance of Athens. She subsequently served as a First Instance Judge in the Courts of First Instance of Evrytania, Lamia and Piraeus; in the latter she served for four years in the Maritime Section. She also served as Presiding Judge at the Criminal Department of the Court of First Instance of Athens.
She later served as an Appeal Court Judge in the Courts of Appeal of the Aegean and Piraeus. In 2020, she was promoted to the rank of Presiding Judge at the Court of Appeal and served in the Criminal Department of the Piraeus Court of Appeal. In 2022,
she was promoted to the rank of Areopagite and served in the A2 and A3 Civil Departments. In 2025, she was promoted to Vice-President of the Supreme Court.
She holds an LLM in Criminal Sciences (substantive and procedural criminal law) from the Law School of the University of Athens.
As an Appeal Court Judge, she served as an assistant member of the Supreme Special Court (AED) during 2018-2019 and as a regular member of the Central Mediation Committee (KED) from 2018 to 2020. She also contributed to the collective work “Mediation” (2024 edition).
