Malta, a member of the European Union, abounds in history and culture and is blessed by a mild and congenial Mediterranean climate. It is a small island of 300 square kilometers with a small population of 380,000 known for its friendliness and hospitality.

Malta’s numerous archeological sites bear witness to an intriguing pre-historic era stretching well beyond Phoenician times interlacing the cultures and civilizations that swept the Mediterranean and which have left their visible marks. The Carthaginians, the Romans, the Arabs, the Normans, the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, the French and the British have left legacies to posterity which altogether make Malta so unique. Malta became independent in 1964 .

Malta is within easy reach of any country in Europe and the world. There are daily flights to Rome and London and several flights a week to major cities in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Sicily can be reached by a fast hydrofoil and three times a week, by a passenger /ro-ro liner. All this makes Malta an ideal site for an international centre and seat of learning.

From time immemorial, Malta’s destiny has been intimately linked to the sea. Its strategic location in the center of the Mediterranean – coupled with its excellent, deep and sheltered harbours – has been mainly responsible for Malta’s development as a maritime centre. Its harbours provided a safe and useful haven on the major sea-routes and established Malta as a major entrepot for trade and an important bunkering station.

Within the Mediterranean, maritime navigation, trade and commerce have flourished under the influence of widely accepted and respected rules of maritime law, at times codified as in the Consolato del Mare. Malta’s maritime role has ensured that the study and practice of maritime law has flourished amongst the island’s legal profession. Indeed, it is this legal tradition which contributed to the formulation of the Maltese initiative at the 1967 United Nations General Assembly that culminated in the adoption of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Malta also hosts the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), established under the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and administered by IMO.