Ilaria Tani | Policy & Legal Lead, UN-GGIM–IHO Joint Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information
United Nations

Ilaria Tani is Policy & Legal Lead of the UN-GGIM–IHO Joint Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information and Liaison Legal Counsel to the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). She is Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Milano-Bicocca, in Milan, Italy, where she specializes in the international law of the sea and ocean governance. She serves as Legal Adviser to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on law of the sea matters, in which capacity she participates in the Working Party on the Law of the Sea (COMAR) of the Council of the European Union. She is also Scientific Adviser to the Italian Navy Staff on international law of the sea and maritime law. She previously served as Associate Legal Officer with the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) in New York and continues to participate in international law of the sea processes in advisory and expert capacities. Her work focuses on the legal and policy dimensions of maritime security, submarine critical infrastructure, marine geospatial information, maritime zones and jurisdiction, and the governance of activities in the underwater domain, with particular attention to the interface between international law, operational requirements, and emerging technologies. She is also Scientific Director of the forthcoming Italy-based Underwater Governance Executive Programme, an interdisciplinary initiative bringing together public authorities, the maritime and subsea industries, defence stakeholders, and international experts to address the governance, security, and resilience of the underwater domain.