Proudly displayed in the foyer of a court building in one of Hamburg’s most prestigious suburbs is a model of the Wappen von Hamburg.
The original galleon, which entered service in 1669, bristled with cannons and served as a convoy ship protecting the city’s merchant fleet from pirates.
Today, it welcomes visitors to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), an independent judicial body whose 21 judges provide a different form of protection — the peaceful settlement of law of sea-related disputes.
