VUB Contextual Research in Law

  (image source: Premio Bartolo da Sassoferrato ) Next Saturday ( 13 June at 16:30 ), dr. Stefano Cattelan (JURI/CORE) is due to receive the prestigious Premio Bartolo da Sassoferrato per le scienze giuridiche e politico-sociali for his monograph Mare Clausum. The Formation of the Law of the Sea in Pre-Modern State Practice and Legal Doctrine (c. 1350–1650) (Martinus Nijhoff/Brill, Legal History Library, eds. Dirk Heirbaut, Michelle McKinley, Matthew C. Mirow & Remco Van Rhee, vol. 77/ Studies in the History of International Law, ed. Randall Lesaffer, vol. 28, 2025).  This prestigious legal award is named after Bartolus of Sassoferrato (1313-1357), the renowned fourteenth century postglossator or commentator, who continues to live on in the adagium “ nemo bonus jurista nisi bartolista” (no one can be truly called a lawyer if he or she is not familiar with Bartolus’ work). Among the other laureates this year: Sabino Cassese, president of the Corte Costituzionale (the It...

  (image source: CRHiDI ) Abstract: This conference revisits the history of the law of the sea through the lens of "claimed seas" — that is, the recurrent attempts by political authorities to assert jurisdiction, dominion, or special prerogatives over maritime spaces. Rather than presenting the early modern period as a linear triumph of mare liberum and the freedom of the seas, the lecture explores the enduring tension between claims to maritime dominion and arguments for free navigation from the late Middle Ages to the end of the eighteenth century. Drawing on examples from the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, and wider oceanic worlds, it will examine how legal categories such as jurisdictio, dominium, occupation, prescription, and neutrality were mobilised in diplomatic practice and political thought. Particular attention will be paid to the interaction between doctrine and state practice, as well as to the role of smaller powers in shaping evolving conceptions of maritime o...

  (click on poster to enlarge) Dr.  Stefano Cattelan  wil present his recent monograph Mare Clausum. The Formation of the Law of the Sea in Pre-Modern State Practice and Legal Doctrine (c. 1350-1650)  ( Brill, 2025 ) at the Centro internazionale di studi gentiliani  (CISG-ETS) in San Ginesio (Aula consiliare del Comune/Colle San Giovanni), introduced by prof. Luigi Lacchè (Macerata) on 23 April 2026 at 18:00. More information here .

(image source: UniMC ) Dr. Stefano Cattelan wil present at the University of Macerata on 22 April, with replies by Prof. Luigi Lacchè (Macerata) and Prof. Andrea Caligiuri (Macerata). See poster here . (source: University of Macerata )

International Conference: Contested Seas: War, Commerce, and the Making of the Law of the Sea (c. 1400–1800) 19-20 November 2026, Ostend, Belgium Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Campus Ostend / Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) Conveners : Stefano Cattelan & Frederik Dhondt (Vrije Universiteit Brussel – Faculty of Law and Criminology, Research Group CORE) Keynote speakers :  Surabhi Ranganathan (Lauterpacht Centre, University of Cambridge) Indravati Félicité (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) Concept and Rationale: The early modern law of the sea did not emerge as a coherent or pacified body of rules. Rather, it took shape as a fragmented and deeply contested legal regime. It was forged through recurrent warfare, commercial rivalry, and persistent struggles over jurisdiction and enforcement at sea. The pelagic arena was characterised by o verlapping jurisdictions, uneven enforcement, and profound asymmetries of power (Benton, 2010). The freedom of the s...

  (click on image to enlarge) Dr. Stefano Cattelan will present on Venetian maritime policies between justice and sovereignty, at the lecture series History & Law Encounters , organised by prof. Elisabetta Fusar Poli and Federica Paletti at the University of Brescia. more information on the image above.

  Dr. Stefano Cattelan  will present at the University of Padova on his upcoming monograph, with Antonio Del Vecchio (Università di Bologna) and Cristina Setti (Università di Padova) as discutants. Click on the image to enlarge. More information with michele dot basso at unipd dot it and clauda dot passarella at unipd dot it.

  (image source: SOAS ) On 7 February, Dr. Stefano Cattelan will present at the symposium Freedom of the Seas and Individual Freedom, 15th-19th Centuries , organized at the School for Oriental and African Studies (University of London), funded by the British Academy. More information here .

  (image source: Maastricht University; click on image to enlarge) Dr. Stefano Cattelan (Postdoctoral Researcher, FWO Junior Fundamental Research Project  In the Shadow of the Great Powers: Freedom of the Sea and Neutrality in the Long Eighteenth Century , will present his forthcoming monograph (Brill, series Legal History Library/Studies in the History of International Law) at the Maastricht Foundations of Law Colloquia. This takes place in-person (below), but also on Zoom (cf. QR-code above).

(image source: NAM ) Dr. Stefano Cattelan wrote an article on Christian IV of Denmark for the Nuova Antologia Militaire. Abstract: During the reign of Christian IV Oldenburg (1588-1648), the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway reached the height of its influence in Northern Europe. Thanks to an impressive fleet, in the first part of the reign, the king reaffirmed Danish supremacy over the Baltic Sea (dominium maris Baltici) and supported Norwegian claims on the waters between the Scandinavian Peninsula and Iceland. However, by intervening in the Thirty Years’ War in 1625, the ambitious ruler fell prey to erroneous diplomatic and geopolitical choices, which jeopardized the very existence of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway. Although Christian IV remains arguably the most iconic Danish monarch, his legacy is open to conflicting assessments: on the one hand, he brought the Dane-Norwegian state to the pinnacle of its prestige; on the other, his actions triggered the subsequent decline of Denmark and th...