'This book, based on the PhD thesis of the author at the University of Edinburgh, is an interesting description of the historical development of the law of the seas. The new and different aspect of the book is that it does not focus on the substantive legal arrangements of the law of the sea nor on the policy issues and state conflicts that have led to these legal arrangements. Instead, it concentrates on the role of the various international organisations and the various procedures employed by negotiators in order to push forward the development of the law of the sea over the past few decades. In other words, this book is about understanding the governance of the developments of the law of the sea rather than the governance of the oceans as such.' The Journal of International Maritime Law

'… [this book] should command the attention of a wide audience, including students and scholars studying the law of the sea, the law of international institutions, the law of treaties, and international law in general.' Yoshifumi Tanaka, Netherlands International Law Review