After the Mexico City Assembly of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) in September/October 2019, the next CMI Assembly was to be held in Tokyo in 2020. Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Assembly in Tokyo was first postponed and then rescheduled to take place in 2025.

In 2021, for the first time in CMI’s history, the Assembly was held online via Zoom. As the regular readers of the Maritime Law Journal surely know, the Assembly took place on 30 September 2021 and it resolved the issue of admitting the Maritime Law Association “RUMLA” as a national maritime law association from Russia. The decision of the CMI Assembly was almost unanimous (made by general vote of the CMI members). The Maritime Law Association “RUMLA” became a full member of CMI.

In 2022, the pandemic has receded and the CMI has decided to hold an offline Assembly. The 2022 Assembly of the Comité Maritime International will take place in Antwerp, Belgium on the afternoon of Friday, 21 October 2022, preceded by a two-day conference organized jointly by the CMI and the Belgian MLA.

Wednesday, 19 October 2022, has been set aside for meetings of the CMI’s International Working Groups and Standing Committees, where the recent work of the CMI will be reviewed and showcased, and the Executive Council will hold its first non-virtual meeting in three years on Tuesday, 18 October 2022, and after the meeting ExCo members will have the pleasure of inviting delegates to tour CMI headquarters and attend a pre-conference champagne and oyster reception.

A plenary to approve the new General Average Guidelines (and security wordings) has been scheduled for Friday morning, 21 October 2022, and the Conference work programme will include the Berlingieri Lecture delivered by Past President Patrick Griggs, as well as sessions on Judicial Sale of Ships, MASS, Polar Shipping, Fair Treatment of Seafarers, Electronic Transport Documents, Maritime Law Issues in Courts, Unified Interpretation of Test for Breaking Limitation, presentation of the yCMI and IMLI Essay Prize Winners, and a yCMI programme.

Thus, the Antwerp Assembly and Conference will mark the first time the CMI members meet in person since the 2019 meeting in Mexico City. Moreover, the Antwerp meeting will coincide with the CMI’s 125th anniversary and, thus, promises to be a memorable celebration and event.

The welcome reception for delegates and their partners will take place on Wednesday evening, 19 October 2022, with the traditional gala dinner on Thursday, 20 October 2022, and the farewell reception on Friday, 21 October 2022. Additionally, post-event tours to fascinating and historic cities such as Bruges and Ghent will be available for those who wish to extend their stay in Antwerp and explore the magical wonders Belgium has to offer.

More information can be found on the website of the Comité Maritime International https://comitemaritime.org and the event website https://www.cmi2022antwerp.org. ■