Dr James Harrison is a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh where he teaches public international law and public law.

• 1. Making the modern Law of the Sea: challenges and opportunities; 2. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; 3. Amendment and modification of the Law of the Sea Convention by the states parties; 4. Implementing agreements; 5. The International Seabed Authority and the development of the Deep Seabed Mining Regime; 6. The International Maritime Organization and the international regulation of shipping; 7. The contribution of the Food and Agriculture Organization to international fisheries law; 8. Cooperation, coordination and conflict between international institutions; 9. Conclusion.

'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