Maritime lawyer Dr. Frank Wiswall receives 2015 International Maritime Prize
IMO says Dr. Frank Lawrence Wiswall Junior, former Chair of the IMO Legal Committee and Vice President (Honoris Causa) of the Comité Maritime International (CMI), has received the prestigious International Maritime Prize for 2015 for his contribution to the work of IMO over many years.
Presenting the Prize, during a ceremony at IMO Headquarters on Monday (5 December), IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim highlighted Dr. Wiswall's dedication and leadership in the field of international maritime law over several decades, making an invaluable contribution to the goals and purpose of IMO.
"Dr. Wiswall's contribution to IMO's goals has been vast. In helping to provide the legal backbone for a regulatory regime that covers just about every aspect of ship design, construction and operation, and related issues like liability and compensation, wreck removal and ship recycling – he has played his part in our common goal of making shipping safe, secure, efficient and clean," Mr. Lim said. The Prize ceremony was held at the close of the first day of the IMO Council's 117th session.
Dr. Wiswall acted as Vice Chair and Chair of IMO's Legal Committee in the 1970s and 1980s; worked as a lecturer and Governing Board Member of the IMO International Maritime Law Institute, IMLI, and served as Vice-President of the Comité Maritime International.
The IMO Council decided to award the Prize to Dr. Wiswall at its June session, noting Dr. Wiswall's personal contribution to the work of IMO, leading IMO's Legal Committee as it developed a number of key international treaties and holding important roles at various international IMO legal and diplomatic conferences.
As a lecturer at IMLI in Malta and as a Member of its Governing Board from 1992 to the present, Dr. Wiswall has also made a significant contribution to the training of lawyers from around the world.
In nominating his candidature for the International Maritime Prize, the CMI said Dr. Wiswall had contributed greatly to the establishment of the uniformity of maritime law during his long and distinguished career as a practising maritime lawyer, academic and Vice-President of the CMI.
The International Maritime Prize is awarded annually by IMO to the individual or organization judged to have made the most significant contribution to the work and objectives of the Organization. It consists of a sculpture in the form of a dolphin and includes a financial award, upon submission of an academic paper written on a subject relevant to IMO.
