Presentation

At the beginning of the nineties a group of researchers belonging to the Department of Administrative Law of the recently founded University of A Coruña began what was to become a prolonged specialization in the study of legal questions related to the coast. Coastal management, the marine environment and fishing resources constituted the pillars of a scientific output supported by numerous publications, research projects and scientific meetings which counted with the presence of world renowned experts

The accident of the Prestige on the Galician coast in November 2002 was a revolution which marked a before and after in the action of the research group. The elaboration of a legal report on the legal administrative problems set out by the Prestige (published by the editorial Thompson-Aranzadi in 2005) was the first in a series of contributions aimed towards an improvement in maritime safety.

The shared willpower of those who formed part of the working group and the conviction that coastal management constituted a pressing priority were the driving force behind the birth of the Coastal Observatory, assigned to the University Institute of Maritime Studies of the University of A Coruña

Since then the researchers who form part of this observatory aim to reach the following objectives which are to:

• Monitor the course of improvements and deficiencies in coastal law at international, European and national levels
• Draw up proposals on the improvement of legal coastal management
• Deepen coastal studies and update previous studies
• Offer advice and information to the public administrations, public and private institutions or individuals.
• Promote the diffusion of coastal studies

The creation of this web page aims to offer the scientific community a place for reflexion, favouring the transference of knowledge and promotion of the study of coastal law among those who share the same worries as the members who form part of the observatory.