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Judge Frida Maria Armas Pfirter

Member of the Tribunal since 1 October 2023

Born: Rosario (Province of Santa Fe), Argentina, 30 September 1957.

Education: Lawyer, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, Catholic University of Argentina at Rosario (1983); scholarships to pursue postgraduate studies from The Hague Academy of International Law (1986, 1988, 1991, 1994), the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (Costa Rica, 1987), the United Nations International Law Commission (Geneva, 1988), the Organization of American States (1989) and the United Nations University (1995); Ph.D. in Law (International Law) by the University of Buenos Aires (1992).

Professional Experience: Conciliator and arbitrator (for Argentina) of the dispute settlement system of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (2009-present). Expert for the purposes of Annex VIII of UNCLOS, in the area of fisheries, (2009-present). Professor of Public International Law (1987-present), inter alia: Professor, Postgraduate Degree Course on Natural Resources, University of Buenos Aires (1993-1998), Visiting Professor, Catholic University of Argentina (2000), Professor at the 29th Course on International Law organized by the Inter-American Juridical Committee and the Department of International Law of the Organization of American States (OAS), Rio de Janeiro (2002, 2006), Full Professor of Public International Law, Austral University, Buenos Aires (2002-present), Professor, Faculty of Law, Austral University (2006-2018), Professor at the 12th Session of the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy, Rhodes, Greece (2007), Full Professor (Chair) of Public International Law, University of Buenos Aires (2015-present), Training Leader, International Ocean Institute (IOI), Training Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean (2018-present), Professor, Yeosu Academy of the Law of the Sea, Yeosu, Republic of Korea (2019), Director of the Postgraduate Course on “Public Policies on Sustainability of the Oceans”, Austral University (2021-present); Legal Officer, Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine Republic (1992-1997); Member of the Argentine delegation at the international meetings, inter alia: FAO Technical Meeting for a Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing, Rome (1994); 5th-26th Sessions of the International Seabed Authority, Kingston, Jamaica (1999-2021); meetings with the Commission and Sub-commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, United Nations, New York (2001, 2009, 2012-2017); bilateral technical meetings on the outer limit of the continental shelf with: Brazil, Uruguay, Denmark, Cuba, Ecuador, United Kingdom, Chile; United Nations meetings related to the Law of the Sea, including: United Nations open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans (2004, 2007, 2012, 2023), first meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Protected Areas, Montecatini, Italy (2005), meeting of the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZPCSA), Buenos Aires (2007), Working Group on biological diversity beyond the areas of national jurisdiction (2010, 2011), Meeting of States Parties to UNCLOS (2012, 2016, 2022, 2023); oral hearings before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (2010-2012); General Coordinator of the Argentine National Commission on the Outer Limit of the Continental Shelf (COPLA) (1997-2023); General Coordinator, United Nations Development Programme (1998-2023); Member of the Legal and Technical Commission (2001-2011) and the Finance Committee (2011-2022), International Seabed Authority; Expert at the National (Argentine) Commission for University Evaluation and Accreditation (CONEAU) in the field of International Law, Law of the Sea and Environmental Law (2003-present); over 200 conferences/lectures in Argentina and abroad.

Member: Advisory Board of the National System of Ocean Data, Argentine Ministry of Science and Technology (2011-present); International Expert Groups for the kick-off Conference of the UN Decade of Ocean Science - Germany (2020-2022); full member of the National Academy of Law and Social Sciences of Buenos Aires  (2021-present); Steering Committee for the White Paper on Oceans for the 150th Anniversary of the International Law Association (ILA) (2021-2023); Decade Advisory Board to assist UNESCO-COI in coordinating the UN Ocean Decade (2022-2023); Advisory Member of the Argentine Council on Foreign Relations (CARI); Hispano-Luso-American Institute of International Law (IHLADI); International Law Association (ILA); Argentine Association of Comparative Law (AADC); Argentine Association of International Law (AADI); Argentine Naval Academy.

Publications:

Author of three books and numerous book chapters and specialized articles, including: “Legal Framework for the Environmental Protection on Prospecting and Exploration for Cobalt-Rich Crusts”, in: Mining Cobalt-Rich Ferromanganese Crusts and Polymetallic Sulphides Deposits: Technological and Economic Considerations, International Seabed Authority, Jamaica, 2007; “Marco legal para la protección ambiental en la exploración y explotación de las costras ricas en cobalto”, in: Los recursos de lecho y subsuelo del mar – Aspectos jurídicos, científicos y económicos de su exploración y explotación, COPLA-CARI (ed.), Buenos Aires, 2008; “How can Life in the Deep Sea be protected?” in: The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 24 (2009); “Legal Basis within the International Seabed Authority Regulatory Framework for Establishing a Network of Areas of Potential Environmental Interest”, in: Memorias de la Comisión Permanente del Pacífico Sur, Ecuador, 2010; “The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles: Practice to Date and Some Issues of Debate”, in: Law, Technology and Science for Oceans in Globalisation, Vidas, Davor, The Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway, 2010; “Estado del arte de las tendencias sobre legislación relativa a la minería de las Fondos Marinos - Su aplicación al Pacifico Sudeste, incluyendo propuestas para promover la adopción de medidas regionales sobre minería oceánica”, Report, Permanent Commission of the South Pacific, Ecuador, 2012, in: cpps-int.org/cpps-docs/consultorias/fondos_marinos/analisis-juridico-fondos-marinos.pdf; “Pandora's Box and Article 76 of UNCLOS - A decade of State practice in the outer limit of the continental shelf”', in: Technical and Legal Aspects of the Regimes of the Continental Shelf and the Area - Vol. II, China Ocean Press, Beijing, 2012; “Capítulo 33: La Zona internacional de los fondos marinas”, in: Lecciones de Derecho Internacional Público, Gonzalez Napolitano, Silvina (ed.), Errepar, Buenos Aires, 1st ed., 2015; “The Applicability and the Application of the evidence to the Contrary”, co-author with Paterlini, Marcelo, in: Technical and Legal Aspects of the Regimes of the Continental Shelf and the Area - The Fourth Album, Chapter 14, Science Press, Beijing, 2015; “El límite exterior de la plataforma continental argentina - El límite mas extenso y nuestra frontera con la humanidad”, in: Res Diplomatica - Number 1, May 2015, Tercera Epoca, Instituto del Servicio Exterior de la Nación (ISEN); “The Seabed Disputes Chamber: Moving Forward”, in: Legal Order in the World’s Oceans: the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, John Norton Moore (ed.), Brill Academic Publishers, 2017; “The Outer Limit of the Continental Shelf in the Recent International Jurisprudence”, in: New Approaches to the Law of the Sea - In Honor of Ambassador Jose Antonio de Yturriaga-Barberan", Fernandez-Sanchez, P.A. (ed.), Nova Science Publishers, Inc., New York, 2017; “Article 82 of UNCLOS: A Clear Outcome of the ‘Package Deal’ Approach of the Convention Negotiation”, in: The Future of Ocean Governance and Capacity Development - Essays in Honor of Elizabeth Mann Borgese, International Ocean Institute (IOI), Brill-Nijhoff, Leiden-Boston, 2018; “The International Seabed Authority and the protection of biodiversity”, in: Guide to the Navigation of Marine Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction, Toledo, Andre de Paiva and Tassin, Virginie (eds.), Editora D ‘Placido, Belo Horizonte, 2018; “Los Estados Latinoamericanos y el límite exterior de la plataforma continental”, in: America Latina ante el Derecho Internacional del Mar - Liber Amicorum Dr. Alfredo Martinez Moreno, Gutierrez Castillo, V.L. and Villalta Vizcarra, A.E., Tirant Lo Blanch, Valencia, 2018; “La plataforma continental más allá de las 200 millas marinas: desafíos y oportunidades”, in: Curso de Derecho Internacional , XLV-2018, Comité Jurídico Interamericano; “The continental Shelf and its Outer Limit” and “La plataforma continental y su límite exterior”, Audiovisual Library of International Law, United Nations Codification Division, Office of Legal Affairs, 2019 (https://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Armas-Pfirter_LS.html); “The ‘Common Heritage of Mankind’ Principle and the Equitable Sharing of Benefits”, in: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Part XI Regime and the International Seabed Authority: a Twenty-Five Year Journey, Ascencio-Herrera and Nordquist, Brill, 2022.

Distinctions: Honour Diploma granted by the Commission for Military Justice “San Alfonso Maria de Ligorio”, Buenos Aires (2002); Award granted by the President of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina (CONICET) for the contribution to oceanographic vessel “ARA Puerto Deseado” (2013); Senator Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Honourable Mention granted by the Senate of the Argentine Congress (2016); Award for Academic Excellence granted by the President of the University of Buenos Aires (2017); Diploma of Honour awarded by the House of Representatives of the Province of Santa Fe (2017); Award for an outstanding professional career granted by the Professional Council of Economic Sciences of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (2017); Distinguished Personality of Juridical Sciences by Legislature of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (2023).