Externado Professor appointed president of the Colombian Association of Maritime Law

He is Javier Franco, professor-researcher of our House of Studies’ Commercial Law Department.

The Colombian Association of Maritime Law (ACOLDEMAR), founded in 1980, has 37 active members; it had been chaired by Dr. Elizabeth Salas until March 24, 2021, when Professor Franco was unanimously elected as president.

ACOLDEMAR is the National Association having a direct link with the International Maritime Committee (CMI); its main purpose is to carry out analysis and / or make contributions relating to maritime affairs and its regulation in the country.

Professor Franco is LL.M. in International Commercial Law and Maritime Law from the University of Wales-Swansea, UK (with honors). He is also a member of the International Working Group (IWG) of the International Maritime Committee at Lex Marítima; member of the Colombian branch of the Ibero-American Institute of Maritime Law, and member of the commercial and customs and practices and trade facilitation commissions of the Colombian Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Franco is a Bogotá Chamber of Commerce arbitrator on transportation and commercial law issues, and formed part of the group of experts selected by the General Maritime Office for the preparation of the draft bill of the first version of the Colombian Maritime Code.

At the academic level, he performs as a professor of different undergraduate, specialization, and master’s subjects in the area of transport at our University, and is the author of specialized publications in the field, including the book “Aspectos legales de la logística comercial y los contratos de servicios logísticos”(Legal aspects of commercial logistics and logistics service contracts).

Our University congratulates Professor Franco on his appointment and wishes him much success.