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.

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.

This collection of essays critically evaluates the legal framework necessary for the use of autonomous ships in international waters. The work is divided into three parts: Part 1 evaluates how far national shipping regulation, and the public international law background that lies behind it, may need modification and updating to accommodate the use of autonomous ships on international voyages. Part 2 deals with private law and insurance issues such as collision and pollution liability, salvage, limitation of liability and allocation of risk between carrier and cargo interests. Part 3 analyses international convention regimes dealing with maritime safety and other matters, arguing for specific changes in the existing conventions such as SOLAS and MARPOL, which would provide the international framework that is necessary for putting autonomous ships into commercial use. The book also takes the view that amendment of international conventions is important in the case of liability issues, arguing that leaving such matters to national law, particularly issues concerning product liability, could not only restrict or hinder the availability of liability insurance but also hamper the development of technology in this field. Written by internationally-known experts in their respective areas, the book offers a holistic approach to the debate on autonomous ships and makes a timely and important contribution to the literature.

New Technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Shipping Law in the 21st Century consists of edited versions of the papers delivered at the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law's 14th International Colloquium at Swansea Law School in September 2018. Written by a combination of top academics and highly experienced legal practitioners, these papers have been carefully co-ordinated to give the reader a first-class insight into the issues surrounding new technology and shipping. The book is set out in three parts: Part I offers a detailed and critical analysis of issues that are emerging, and those that are likely to emerge, from the use of advanced computer technology, particularly at the contracting process and in the context of issuing trading documents. Part 2 focusses on artificial intelligence and discusses the contemporary issues that will emerge once autonomous ships and similar crafts are put to use in the world's oceans. As well as this, the legal impact of ports utilising artificial intelligence and computer technology will also be considered. Part 3 analyses how the increasing use of legal technology is changing insurance underwriting and shipping litigation. An invaluable guide to the recent technological advances in shipping, this book is vital reading for both professional and academic readers.

Some years ago, while a Senior Lecturer-in-Law at BPP University, one of my Master of Laws' students asked if he could write a dissertation in Maritime Law. He wanted to do a survey of the rules of both Admiralty Law and the Law of the Sea. The department contained no specialist in either of these fields, and I taught neither. As he could not be dissuaded from this plan, I had to undertake a rapid, informal, self-directed learning programme in the subjects in order to gain sufficient professional skill to be able to supervise, and, later, assess the dissertation. His project was surprisingly good -- and I had my first contact with rules concerning territorial seas, contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones, continental shelves and high seas. My interest in these topics grew and, eventually, flourished in the project of this monograph. The book covers the laws in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 that concern baselines and boundary delimitation, together with cases which relate to these topics. There is also a major input to the monograph from procedural matters pertaining to the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and arbitration under Annex VII to the Convention, with an example case provided for each of these mechanisms. As States Parties to the Convention may make a Declaration under its Article 287 for the settlement of their disputes by one or more of these methods -- together with special arbitration under Annex VIII to the Convention for four issues specified therein -- this Article, together with the methods and the remainder of Part XV of the Convention, are core material for a systematic review of the Law of the Sea. In instances in which it is possible, comparisons are made between: (i) the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its predecessors, i.e., the Geneva Conventions from 1958, and (ii) the rules of the International Court of Justice and those of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. In essence, the Convention builds upon its precursory instruments, which tend to be simpler than the former, and the procedural rules for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea are similar or identical to those of the International Court of Justice, other than a few provisions that are new or materially modified from the terms of the Court, but with the necessary changes from the latter being made. The cases at this level are fewer than in black-letter subjects of the law, but tend to be complex and, for the legal scholar, very interesting. This is especially true of the South China Sea Arbitration, which was a judgment of pioneering brilliance from an Annex VII arbitral tribunal composed of one academic and four experienced judges, to which a substantial literature has-in the short period since this case's resolution -- been devoted. The very best of luck with your reading!