The Agreement under UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) represents the most significant development in global ocean governance in decades. Adopted on 19 June 2023 after nearly two decades of negotiations, the Agreement crossed the 60-ratification threshold in September 2025, triggering a 120-day countdown for its entry into force. In accordance with the treaty's entry-into-force clause, the Agreement is scheduled to enter into force on 17 January 2026. The BBNJ Agreement establishes an integrated framework for the marine genetic resources (MGRs) and fair and equitable benefit-sharing; area--based management tools (ABMTs). As the international community and states moves from negotiation to implementation, urgent questions emerge about institutional readiness, operationalization of the clearing-house mechanism (CHM), coordination with existing sectoral bodies (including RFMOs and the ISA), and the treaty's practical implications for polar and regional ocean governance. This event will explore the following aspects: The legal and institutional transition of BBNJ agreement from adoption to effective implementation. Interaction with the existing ocean governance regimes and implications for future rule--making processes in the high seas. Most importantly, BBNJ agreement impact on the polar governance in the Arctic and the Antarctic.

• Amb. Rena Lee, Singapore’s Ambassador for International Law, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Vito de Lucia, Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea (NCLOS), UiT/Arctic University of Norway
• Carina Costa de Oliveira, Faculty of Law, University of Brasilia
• Liu Nengye, Singapore Management University, Yong Pung How School of Law

Co-sponsored by ASIL's Law of the Sea Interest Group, Rashtriya Raksha University, and Singapore Management University.