Seminar with Ambassador (Ret.) Marie Jacobsson: The Sound and Contemporary Challenges in the Baltic Sea

Abstract
For centuries, the Öresund has been a strategic maritime passage and also a focal point in relations between Denmark and Sweden. Taking the 1857 Treaty on the Abolition of the Sound Dues as its starting point, this talk explores the historical regulation of navigation through the Sound and its continuing legal and political significance. Marie Jacobsson will connect this history to contemporary challenges facing the Baltic Sea region, including the legal protection of submarine cables and pipelines, threats to critical infrastructure, and the operation of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. The talk will consider how historical arrangements interact with modern international law and how the law of the sea responds to new security, environmental and geopolitical risks in one of Europe’s most important maritime regions.

Bio
Ambassador (Ret.) Marie Jacobsson is Associate Professor of International Law at Lund University and one of Sweden’s leading experts on international law, peace and security. Until her retirement in 2023, she served as Ambassador and Principal Legal Adviser on International Law at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. From 2007 to 2016, she was a member of the United Nations International Law Commission, where she acted as Special Rapporteur on the protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts. Her expertise encompasses the law of the sea, maritime security, international humanitarian law, arms control and boundary issues. In 2023, she received the Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy. In 2025, the World Maritime University in Malmö awarded her an honorary Doctor of Science in Maritime Affairs in recognition of her outstanding service to the international maritime community.