Gordan Stanković studied law at the University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law. He obtained LL.M. degrees from the Law Faculties of Split, Croatia and Southampton, UK, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Split, Faculty of Law. He was a Fulbright visiting scholar at the Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Dr. Stanković is a partner and head of the Shipping and Admiralty Department at Vukić & Partners, one of the leading commercial and shipping law firms in Croatia. He has extensive experience in various fields of shipping law, but his greatest expertise lies in the fields of shipbuilding, ship finance, ports/terminals/maritime demesne, and enforcement of maritime claims. On two occasions (2000 and 2006-2007), he acted as legal consultant to the Government of Croatia on the restructuring of the Croatian shipbuilding industry. As an Associate Professor, he has taught Maritime Law at the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Rijeka, as well as the Law of Shipping Finance at the Faculty of Law in Rijeka, and the Maritime Procedural Law at the Faculty of Law in Split. Dr. Stanković is the author of a series of monographs and papers on various shipping law topics, including the chapter on Croatia in Kluwer's International Encyclopaedia of Laws – Transport Law. He has given presentations at a large number of international and domestic maritime law conferences. He has been involved in the drafting of the Croatian Maritime Code as a member of the working group on registration of ships, liens and mortgages, as well as the working group on judicial sales of ships and ship arrest. Dr. Stanković is the President of the Croatian Maritime Law Association and a Titulary Member of the CMI. He is also listed as an arbitrator at the Permanent Arbitral Court of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.