Prof. Norman Martinez is the Director of the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), a position he assumed on 1 August 2022.

He read law at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH). He then obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) Degree with Distinction (1998) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree cum laude (2010) from IMLI. Prof. Martinez has been teaching at IMLI since 1999 and in 2019 he was conferred the Title of Full Professor of International Maritime Law. Prof. Martinez was admitted as an Advocate to the Honduran Lawyers’ Bar Association (2005) and has acted as an international maritime law consultant since the year 2000, in which capacity he has advised a number of international clients and has drafted legislation for governments in several areas of maritime law. He joined the International Maritime Organization’s Roster of Experts in 2003 and in 2013 he became a member of the Panel of Arbitrators of the Câmara Arbitral Marítima no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. He joined the Roster of Experts of the Food and Agriculture Organization in 2018 and has been engaged by the Organization in the capacity of Consultant as a Fisheries Insurance Legal Expert and International Fisheries Policy and Legal Expert since 2019.

In 2011 the Government of Honduras presented him with a Diploma of Recognition for steadfast contributions to the international maritime community and in particular to the promotion of the good name of the Republic of Honduras. In 2022, the Comité Maritime International (CMI) appointed him as Titulary Member.

Professor Martinez has taught extensively in the areas of shipping law, law of the sea, and maritime legislation drafting. His book on Limitation of Liability in International Maritime Conventions: The Relationship between Global Limitation Conventions and Particular Liability Regimes has been widely acknowledged as a reference source for academics and practitioners alike.

He is the author of many publications in the field of international maritime law and is a frequent speaker at international conferences and courses.