The international nature of the maritime industry means that ships are subject to the varying legal jurisdictions of the ports in which they call. Law and policy provide a framework necessary for establishing order and harmonization in a highly regulated global industry; they are vital instruments for promoting the safety, security, and commercial efficiency of shipping as well as the protection of the marine environment, in an atmosphere of competing national-contra-global as well as private-contra-public interests. Furthermore, it is of great importance that the legal and policy aspects of maritime activities closely follow the rapid pace of technological and commercial developments. Students and practitioners in maritime law and policy need to be constantly familiar with trends in the shipping industry and possess a solid comprehension of the international legal regimes that not only encourage the sustainable development of global maritime commerce, but also regulate its conduct. This book is a collection of essays dedicated to Professor Proshanto Kumar "PK" Mukherjee, one of the leading lights in the area of maritime law and policy. It presents a mix of background information and insightful analysis by leading experts on a wide range of some of the most pressing and contemporary maritime law and policy topics -- ranging from the development of maritime standards (Mbiah) to the challenges of operating flags of convenience (Mensah), from the latest convention on the international carriage of goods by sea (Basu Bal) to liability and compensation issues related to ship-source marine pollution (Jacobsson, Xu, Kojima), from the intricacies of marine insurance law (Thomas, Gauci) to the vagaries of the conflict of laws (Manolis), and from the legal framework for maritime piracy (Menefee) to the linkages between political stability, economic development, and piracy (Mejia).

This technical study examines the state of e-commerce infrastructure among CAREC countries looking at internet payment systems, delivery, and logistics infrastructure. Digital trade promotion has been a long-standing priority for member countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program to support their integration into global value chains and economic diversification. The study underscores the importance of enabling legislation, digital literacy, and creation of trust. Comprehensive strategy; adequate data for policy making; and support for e-commerce ecosystems, industry associations, and start-ups could nurture e-commerce markets. In addition, CAREC countries must leverage international and regional initiatives to expand domestic and cross-border e-commerce and promote digital trade.

Written from the perspective of the Average Adjuster, and updated to include a detailed analysis of the new rules adopted in 2016, this book is an essential read for practitioners in maritime law and marine insurance. The book contains: historical references regarding the establishment of General Average from Roman Law onwards; details of the establishment of International rules to achieve uniformity in the adjustment of General Average and their development: the Glasgow Resolutions of 1860; the York rules of 1864; and the York-Antwerp Rules 1877, 1890, 1924, 1950, 1974, 1994, 2004 and 2016; a detailed analysis of the York-Antwerp Rules 2016; CMI Guidelines relating to General Average; general average security; general average absorption clauses; and new to this edition: insurance of average disbursements.

In 1996, Congress enacted comprehensive reform of the nation's statutory and regulatory framework for telecommunications by passing the Telecommunications Act, which substantially amended the 1934 Communications Act. The general objective of the 1996 Act was to open up markets to competition by removing unnecessary regulatory barriers to entry. At that time, the industry was characterised by service-specific networks that did not compete with one another: circuit-switched networks provided telephone service and coaxial cable networks provided cable service. The act created distinct regulatory regimes for these service-specific telephone networks and cable networks that included provisions intended to foster competition from new entrants that used network architectures and technologies similar to those of the incumbents. This 'intramodal' competition has proved very limited. But the deployment of digital technologies in these previously distinct networks has led to market convergence and 'intermodal' competition, as telephone, cable, and even wireless networks increasingly are able to offer voice, data, and video services over a single broadband platform. There is consensus that the current statutory framework is not effective in the current market environment, but not on how to modify it. The debate focuses on how to foster investment, innovation, and competition in both the physical broadband network and in the applications that ride over that network while also meeting the many non-economic objectives of U.S. telecommunications policy: universal service, homeland security, public safety, diversity of voices, localism, consumer protection, etc. This book explores these issues and includes the act in its entirety.

Unconventional Lawmaking in the Law of the Sea explores the ways that actors operating at the international level develop standards of behaviour to regulate varied maritime activities beyond traditional lawmaking. Other than conventions and customary international law, there is a plethora of international agreements that influence international conduct. This 'soft law' or 'informal law' is now prolific in ocean governance, and so it is time to consider its significance for the law of the sea. This monograph brings together women law-of-the-sea scholars with expertise in specific areas of the law of the sea, as well as international law more generally. Informal lawmaking is examined in relation to ocean resources, maritime security, shipping and navigation, and the marine environment. In each instance, there are reflections on the diverse actors, processes, and outputs shaping the regulation of the oceans. The analyses in this book further consider what this activity means within the rules on the sources, formation, and interpretation of international law. The growing reliance on informal agreements to fill legal gaps provides quick responses to pressing matters. We must assess and understand these new forms of cooperation in order to influence existing treaties or customary international law. Unconventional Lawmaking in the Law of the Sea surveys the scope of informal lawmaking in the law of the sea and evaluates the significance of this activity for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as for ocean governance more broadly, now and in the future.

Jurisdiction and Arbitration Agreements in Contracts for the Carriage of Goods by Sea focuses on party autonomy and its limitations in relation to jurisdiction and arbitration clauses included in contracts for the carriage of goods by sea in case of any cargo dispute. The author takes the perspective of the shipping companies and the shipowners, as these are the driving forces of the shipping industry due to their strategic importance. The book provides an analysis of the existing law on the recognition and validity of jurisdiction and arbitration clauses in the contracts for the carriage of goods by sea. The author also seeks to provide conclusions and to learn lessons for the future of the non-recognition and the non-enforcement of the clauses in the existing fragmented legal framework at an international, European Union, and national level (England & Wales and Spain). The interface between the different legal regimes reveals the lack of international harmonisation and the existence of 'forum shopping' when a cargo interest sues the shipowner or the party to whom the shipowner charters the vessel. This concise book provides a useful overview of existing research, for students, scholars and shipping lawyers

This book covers the pressing issues of cross-border cases involving admiralty and bankruptcy law. For example, what should happen when a shipowner files an insolvency proceeding in one country, while at the same time facing an in rem action against its vessel in another country? Should the in rem action arising in one country be stayed or dismissed because of the existence of insolvency proceedings in another country? The book discusses the relevant issues regarding the treatment of maritime creditors throughout insolvency proceedings, the determination of the 'centre of main interest' of an offshore shipping company, and the scope of a debtor's assets. The author uses a comparative law analysis, selecting four leading shipping countries - Australia, the UK, the US, and Singapore - and examines their approaches to the above three problems when applying the UNCITRAL Model Law regime. The book also proposes a solution to help eliminate the ambiguity arising from maritime cross-border insolvency cases under the UNCITRAL Model Law regime, with a view to enhancing the development of the shipping industry.

This report provides an analysis of the rise of non-tariff measures (NTMs) and its implications for Asia and the Pacific. Prepared jointly by ESCAP and UNCTAD, it reviews the costs and benefits associated with such measures from a sustainable development perspective, and identifies good practices to ensure that they serve their legitimate social or environmental purpose while not unnecessarily and negatively affecting trade and investment. The report focuses on the rise of NTMs and why they matter for sustainable development. It delves on the impact of NTMs in Asia and the Pacific, explores their relationship to international standards and discusses streamlining NTMs for Sustainable Development.

While it might have been viable for states to isolate themselves from international politics in the nineteenth century, the intensity of economic and social globalisation in the twenty-first century has made this impossible. The contemporary world is an international world - a world of collective security systems and collective trade agreements. What does this mean for the sovereign state and 'its' international legal order? Two alternative approaches to the problem of 'governance' in the era of globalisation have developed in the twentieth century: universal internationalism and regional supranationalism. The first approaches collective action problems from the perspective of the 'sovereign equality' of all States. A second approach to transnational 'governance' has tried to re-build majoritarian governmental structures at the regional scale. This collection of essays wishes to analyse - and contrast - the two types of normative and decisional answers that have emerged as responses to the 'international' problems within our globalised world.

A major non-technical challenge of space activities is ensuring productive cooperation, communication, and understanding between the engineers who design the mission and the space lawyers who cover its relevant legal aspects. Though both groups usually attain some level of understanding, it is only achieved after many years of experience in the space industry and through repeated contact with topics relevant to their projects. A basic understanding of the most important legal and technical aspects acquired earlier in their careers can facilitate better cooperation and more efficient development of space projects. Promoting Productive Cooperation Between Space Lawyers and Engineers is a pivotal reference source that provides vital insights into basic legal and technical topics and challenges that occur while planning and conducting typical space activities. The book uses high-profile space missions as examples and highlights the major technical aspects of these missions and the legal issues applied to these missions. While highlighting topics such as planetary settlements, policy perspectives, and suborbital spaceflight, this publication is ideally designed for lawyers, engineers, academicians, students, and professionals.

While it might have been viable for states to isolate themselves from international politics in the nineteenth century, the intensity of economic and social globalisation in the twenty-first century has made this impossible. The contemporary world is an international world - a world of collective security systems and collective trade agreements. What does this mean for the sovereign state and 'its' international legal order? Two alternative approaches to the problem of 'governance' in the era of globalisation have developed in the twentieth century: universal internationalism and regional supranationalism. The first approaches collective action problems from the perspective of the 'sovereign equality' of all States. A second approach to transnational 'governance' has tried to re-build majoritarian governmental structures at the regional scale. This collection of essays wishes to analyse - and contrast - the two types of normative and decisional answers that have emerged as responses to the 'international' problems within our globalised world.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is an autonomous judicial body established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to adjudicate disputes arising out of the interpretation and application of the Convention. The Tribunal is open to States Parties to the Convention. It is also open to entities other than States Parties (States and international organizations non-parties to the Convention and natural or juridical persons) in cases provided for in the Convention or other agreements conferring jurisdiction on the Tribunal. Le Tribunal international du droit de la mer est un organe judiciaire independant, cree par la Convention des Nations Unies sur le droit de la mer, pour connaitre des differends relatifs a l'interpretation et l'application de la Convention. Le Tribunal est ouvert aux Etats Parties a la Convention. Il est egalement ouvert a des entites autres que les Etats Parties (Etats et organisations internationales non parties a la Convention et personnes physiques et morales) dans les cas prevus par la Convention ou par d'autres accords conferant competence au Tribunal.

Maritime Delimitation as a Judicial Process is the first comprehensive analysis of judicial decisions, state practice and academic opinions on maritime boundary delimitation. For ease of reading and clarity, it follows this three-stage approach in its structure. Massimo Lando analyses the interaction between international tribunals and states in the development of the delimitation process, in order to explain rationally how a judicially-created approach to delimit maritime boundaries has been accepted by states. Pursuing a practical approach, this book identifies disputed points in maritime delimitation and proposes solutions which could be applied in future judicial disputes. In addition, the book engages with the underlying theories of maritime delimitation, including the relationship between delimitation and delineation, the effect of third states' rights on delimitation, and the manner in which each stage of the process influences the other stages.

The title 'Commercial Maritime Law' is a misnomer. There is a patchwork of different commercial maritime laws around the world. However, the title is a true reflection of what many legal scholars and practitioners in the field have long desired: a common framework of commercial maritime law. This book unravels the complexities of bridging the gap between common law and civil law and will discuss whether the title will remain a misnomer despite the countless attempts at harmonisation. Internationally renowned legal scholars and practitioners discuss herein the areas in which the common law and civil law are divided; the impact of these differences on the drafting and ratification of international conventions; the search for a common framework; and the procedural aspects of the common law and civil law divide embedded within commercial maritime law.

On 22 January 2013, the Republic of the Philippines instituted arbitral proceedings against the People's Republic of China (PRC) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) with regard to disputes between the two countries in the South China Sea (South China Sea Arbitration). On 19 February 2013, the PRC formally expressed its opposition to the institution of proceedings, making it clear from the outset that it will not have any part in these arbitral proceedings and that this position will not change. It is thus to be expected that over the next year and a half, the Tribunal will receive written memorials and hear oral submissions from the Philippines only. The Chinese position will go unheard. However, the Tribunal is under an obligation, before making its award, to satisfy itself not only that it has jurisdiction over the dispute, but also that the claims brought by the Philippines are well founded in fact and law (UNCLOS Annex VII, Article 9).This book aims to offer a (not the) Chinese perspective on some of the issues to be decided by the Tribunal and thus to assist the Tribunal in meeting its obligations under the Convention. The book does not set out the official position of the Chinese government, but is rather to serve as a kind of amicus curiae brief advancing possible legal arguments on behalf of the absent respondent. The book does not deal with the merits of the disputes between the Philippines and the PRC, but focuses on the questions of jurisdiction, admissibility and other objections which the tribunal will have to decide as a preliminary matter. The book will show that there are insurmountable preliminary objections to the Tribunal deciding the case on the merits and that the Tribunal would be well advised to refer the dispute back to the parties in order for them to reach a negotiated settlement.The book brings together scholars of public international law from mainland China, Taiwan and Europe united by a common interest in the law of the sea and disputes in the South China Sea.

International commercial contracts in the context of increasing globalization of the national markets have posed some of the most difficult questions of the legal theory as developed since the emergence of nation states; those are, whether it is possible or desirable to allow international commercial contracts to be governed by the law merchant or, in its medieval name, lex mercatoria, a body of rules which has not been derived from the will of sovereign states, but mainly from transnational trade usages and practices, and to what extent those rules should govern transnational transactions. The traditional approach of legal positivism to the questions maintains that law governing contracts containing a foreign element should be a national law which will be determined according to choice of law rules. However, the particularities of cross border trade yield unsatisfactory results when the rules essentially designed for the settlement of domestic disputes or national laws pertaining to international economic relations, but developed under the influence of a certain legal tradition, are tried to be applied. New solutions are needed to overcome the special problems of international trade between merchants from different legal systems. In that regard, while the international commercial arbitration which has been freed from the constraints of the domestic laws is an important step, the courts generally applying the principle of party autonomy which allows parties to designate the law that will apply to their transactions have proved insufficient due to the positivistic influence on the conflict of laws rules of most countries which has limited parties' choice of law to the national substantive laws. The problems created by those inconsistencies and divergences have been felt more strongly in the European Community which constitutes an internal market by integrating the national markets of Member States into a single one. The present paper is an attempt to search for answers to those questions with a special emphasis on the situation in the European Community on the basis of the idea that law as a servant of social need must take account of the far reaching and dramatic socio-economic changes.

The only truly comprehensive work on marine insurance in the United States to be published since the last edition of Phillips on Insurance in 1867, Parks's work has been heralded around the English-speaking world. With the help of the author's colleagues, this text includes not only the large body of American marine insurance case law, but also United Kingdom and Commonwealth cases and statutes.