ELE 3806 International Maritime Law
ELE 3806 International Maritime Law
Around 80% of the volume of international trade is seaborne. Shipping is no doubt vital in facilitating global trade, both for food and energy supply. As the legal expertise in topics relevant to international shipping is in constant demand, this course aims at providing deeper understanding of the legal complexities surrounding maritime business in international context.
Part I focuses on public law aspects of international maritime law. It introduces the critical legal challenges caused by the global nature of shipping, the principle of navigational freedom, and the changing geopolitical landscape. It examines the role of International Maritime Organization (IMO) in regulating shipping, the current and future trends and needs in the context of increased digitalization and climate change risk, and the role of flag, coastal and port States in implementing the global standards to facilitate safe, secure and environmentally sound transport on seas and oceans worldwide.
Part II switches to the private law side. It examines charterparty contracts typically used in trade of energy commodities, such as oil, as well as ship sale and purchase agreements. This part discusses the critical legal issues related to breach of contract and distribution of risks and liabilities between the parties to a contract. Furthermore, the role of the relevant international associations (e.g., BIMCO) will be presented.
Part III centers around perils at sea, maritime casualties and pollution cases. It combines the public and private law aspects to explain typical legal issues when a vessel runs into a trouble at sea. Important principles of salvage and wreck removal are discussed in depth, and so is the shipowner’s liability and the IMO liability and compensation regime, including the role of the IOPC Fund.
Upon the completion of this course, the students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the topics central to international maritime law. In particular, the students will have:
- Knowledge and understanding of the international rules and regulations applicable to jurisdictional issues involving foreign vessels, and how such rules and regulations apply to concrete legal issues and practical problems;
- Knowledge and understanding of the charterparties, including issues of liability and responsibility for breach of contract;
- Knowledge and understanding of international rules related to maritime casualties, salvage, wreck removal, and places of refuge;
- Knowledge and understanding of international rules on liability of the shipowner and/or operator for pollution and other environmental claims, as well as related marine insurance.
Upon the completion of this course, the students will be able to:
- Identify, analyze and solve common legal problems related to the operation of ships;
- Identify and apply the relevant sources of law independently and critically;
- Identify the limitations of existing law and the need to distinguish law and policy issues;
- Interpret maritime contracts;
- Communicate in English, both orally and in writing, in a clear and precise manner;
- Stay up to date on legal developments within international maritime law.
This course combines practical legal skills with an understanding of how the maritime business works. The students are therefore provided with the necessary knowledge and skills to practice as attorneys-at-law, while being able to understand the market interactions and maritime business in general. The students will be trained for work in law firms, but also insurance companies, corporate and public entities.
As the name suggests, the course International Maritime Law does not examine national laws per se. Nonetheless, upon completion of this course, the students will be able to easily engage with national laws due to the global nature of shipping. Many national laws, including Norwegian law (the Norwegian Maritime Code), borrow their content from international laws and standards almost verbatim. This course will, however, explain the general principles that a national lawyer needs to bear in mind when considering implementation of international rules and standards into domestic legislation.
This course is focused on global rules and standards.
In Part I, the primary objective is to analyze the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and a suite of international treaties and instruments adopted under the auspices of the IMO to set the scene for understanding the difference between international maritime law and law of the sea, but also their interplay. Law and policy papers are discussed to draw attention to current and future regulatory trends and challenges, such as within the area of increased use of autonomy in shipping and reduction of emissions to combat climate change. Special attention is given to addressing regulatory gaps, and challenges arising therefrom. Examples from practice are examined to illustrate the real-life problems (e.g., the use of “dark”/“parallel” fleet to circumvent the global sanctions on States) and plausible legal solutions to these.
As the course shifts towards private law in Part II, standard contracts and contractual clauses (e.g., BIMCO, Norwegian Sale Form) are analyzed to address the key legal issues related to distribution of risks and liabilities between the parties. Global trends in reducing GHG emissions and their inclusion and implications for the charterparties are also covered. In this respect, special contractual clauses are discussed.
Part III focuses on maritime casualties and “wet” claims and thus examines different rules under international treaties, such as Salvage Convention, Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law with respect to Collisions between Vessels, and IMO liability and compensation conventions, as well as different standard forms, such as LOF, SCOPIC, WRECKHIRE and WRECKSTAGE. In addition, this part discusses general principles and tradition of marine insurance and customary international law dilemma on places of refuge for ships.
Business ethics and sustainability issues are integrated into the course.
This course is delivered through 45 hours, in the form of:
- lectures,
- seminars in class (individual and group work), and
- home-take assignments and consultations
- field trips.
All teaching is optional. Students will receive 20-24 lecture hours and 10 seminar hours and work on practical cases throughout the course. While the primary instructors are from BI, external experts are invited to introduce students to various specialized areas. The course also includes a visit to a law firm and/or legal departments of maritime companies, such as marine insurers and shipowners.
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Higher Education Entrance Qualification
Disclaimer
Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.
To be able to take this course, students are required to have passed law courses equivalent to at least 30 ECTS, which must include legal method, contract law and tort law.
Students are encouraged, but not required, to combine this course with ELE 3803 International Trade and Transport.
| Assessments |
|---|
Exam category: School Exam Form of assessment: Written School Exam - digital Exam/hand-in semester: First Semester Weight: 100 Grouping: Individual Support materials:
Duration: 4 Hour(s) Exam code: ELE 38061 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination when next scheduled course |
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Teaching | 34 Hour(s) | |
Feedback activities and counselling | 6 Hour(s) | |
Company visit and/or Study trip | 5 Hour(s) | |
Prepare for teaching | 68 Hour(s) | |
Group work / Assignments | 14 Hour(s) | |
Student's own work with learning resources | 73 Hour(s) |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.
