PolSEA is a DFF2 research project under the Independent Research Fund Denmark. The project is based at Aalborg University under the GTLaw Group at the Department of Law and led by professor (mso) Birgit Feldtmann. The project is conducted by a group of legal (and other social sciences) researchers from different Danish universities.

PolSEA is in general terms dealing with the question of how the law of the sea, and in particular UNCLOS (UN Convention of the Law of the Sea), is intended and in fact functioning as a legal framework for policing activities at sea.

The concept of policing in the context of the project refers to law enforcement activities in a wide sense and touches also on issues such as search and rescue and exercise of sovereignty at sea.

One central topic of PolSEA is the interplay between the law of the sea regime with other legal regimes, such as the human rights regime or domestic law. Another aspect is the role of different actors at sea, e.g. states vs. NGO’s, supranational entities (the EU) and the private sector.

The question of how the law of the sea in fact is functioning as a legal framework for policing is analyzed in specific settings, for example in connection with counter-piracy, migration at sea or policing in the Arctic region.

The project has a strong international focus and is conducted in close cooperation with an international network of researchers and projects.

PolSEA aims at providing new knowledge in connection with specific policing activities at sea, the role of different maritime actors and in connection with understanding and developing the law of the sea as a system of regulation.