Course

Welcome to this course which looks at the law and issues of wellbeing regarding the search and rescue of people who make dangerous crossings at sea. 

This course aims to introduce you to international laws that govern maritime search and rescue (SAR). It also seeks to examine issues of wellbeing which might arise from working with traumatised people. It is designed for those who have an interest in the law of the sea or may find themselves working on SAR operations. Following this introduction, there are five main sections to study:

• Introduction to international law and the law of the sea.
• Migrants’ rights to leave their country by sea.
• Laws concerning maritime search and rescue.
• The practice of ‘pushbacks’ and how it raises human rights issues.
• Mental health risks when working with traumatised people.

This free course was written by Neil Graffin (The Open University Law School), Joanne Vincett (Liverpool John Moores University) and Matt Howard (University of Kent, Kent Law School).