Craig Forrest

Professor Craig Forrest is a Professor of Law and Director of the Marine and Shipping Law Unit at The University of Queensland's TC Beirne School of Law, within the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law. He holds affiliations with the Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law, the Centre for Marine Science (Faculty of Science), and the Australian Centre for Private Law. His research focuses on cultural heritage law, maritime law, and conflict of laws, with significant contributions to national and international policy, including UNESCO conventions and legislation drafting.

Research interests span underwater cultural heritage protection, maritime governance, private international law, and the legal status of legacy shipwrecks as war memorials. He has advised UNESCO on cultural heritage projects in the Pacific and Caribbean, led World Bank-funded research on the Marshall Islands Ship Registry, and contributed to model laws for cultural heritage protection. His work integrates legal frameworks with environmental and archaeological considerations, particularly addressing challenges in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea.

Publications include books such as *Maritime Legacies and the Law* and articles on underwater cultural heritage, conflict resolution, and maritime security. He serves on international committees like the International Law Association's Safeguarding Cultural Heritage in Armed Conflict and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

• Labs/Teams: Marine & Shipping Law Unit (MASLU), leading interdisciplinary maritime law research.
• Grants/Projects: World Bank-funded Marshall Islands Ship Registry study (2022), UNESCO-funded gap analyses in Pacific states (2021–2023).

Prof. Forrest is a Federal Attorney-General appointed Australian correspondent to the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (Rome) and has held visiting positions at global institutions including Cambridge University and the University of Hong Kong.