Dear Colleagues and Friends,

A warm welcome to the CMI Colloquium in Buenos Aires from 24 to 27 October this year! The Colloquium will be the second CMI Colloquium in Latin America, the first being arranged by the Venezuelan Maritime Law Association in 1980. It follows that a CMI Colloquium is not an everyday event in this part of the world, nor indeed in any part of the world.  

I would also like to take the opportunity to express, on behalf of the CMI and all prospective participants,  our sincere thanks to the Argentine Maritime Law Association for hosting this event and undertaking the very considerable work and financial risk involved.

In view  of the above I very much look forward to meeting as many old and new friends as possible in Buenos Aires.  Let us meet up in great numbers and make the Colloquium a success!

Among the issues to be discussed at the Colloquium are Environmental aspects of the Salvage Convention , the Rotterdam Rules, the Brussels Collision Convention of 1910 and its progress over the last 100 years, Problems of Recognition and Enforcement of Judicial Sales of Ships, Legal regimes in the Antarctic and Arctic , Harmonization of the Pollution laws in the Paraguay Parana Waterway (Hidrovía Paraguay-Paraná) and Piracy Today.

In addition to the professional activities, the Argentine Maritime Law Association is organising a comprehensive social programme for the participants and accompanying persons, including tango shows , sightseeing in Buenos Aires, a trip through the Delta of the Paraná River and a gala dinner at the Yacht Club Puerto Madero.

Plans are also made to enable the participants before or after the Colloquium to go to various thrilling destinations in Argentina such as Bariloche, Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia, the Iguazu Falls in the middle of the subtropical rainforest, and the Northwest of Argentina with its native villages.

In brief, the hosts in Buenos Aires are making every effort to ensure that the Colloquium, including any pre- or past colloquium tours shall be worthwhile in all respects.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Argentine Maritime Law Association will be hosting the 2010 Colloquium of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) to be held in the City of Buenos Aires between October 24 and 27, 2010.

Some of the topics to be addressed in the colloquium are piracy, the Salvage Convention, judicial sale of ships and the enforcement problems associated with it, the harmonization of the pollution schemes of the countries of the Hidrovía Paraguay - Paraná and the Rotterdam Rules.

We have also put together an interesting social programme, including a tour to the Delta of the Parana River in addition to the variety of tourist destinations offered by Argentina, such as the very typical Northwest region, the Iguazu Falls in the Northeast and Bariloche and its surrounding lakes in the South, or even the many beach resorts found throughout the extensive Argentine coastline.

Year 2010 is a very special one for Argentina and, particularly, for Buenos Aires, as we commemorate the Bicentennial of the 1810 May Revolution which took place in Buenos Aires, the first step towards Argentina’s independence.

The Argentine Maritime Law Association is therefore pleased to invite all the members of the international maritime community to join us in the 2010 COLLOQUIUM of the Comité Maritime International and to visit our country.