international legal instruments. This is perhaps not surprising since shipping is a
global trade and uniform international rules are important for all stakeholders.
The question discussed in this chapter is whether there are areas in need of further
work in international maritime law in order to meet new challenges as a result of the
developments within the industries concerned and in society at large, and in particular in the light of climate change opening the polar regions to shipping and the
emergence of unmanned ships.
2 Development of International Maritime Law
in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
Systematic work on international harmonization of maritime law did not begin until
the establishment of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) in 1897.
1 Some
important maritime law conventions were prepared at the beginning of the twentieth
century. In 1910 two conventions were adopted dealing with salvage and collision
between vessels, respectively. A convention on the safety of life at sea was adopted
in 1914 in response to the Titanic disaster. Two important treaties were adopted in
1924, one on limitation of liability and the other relating to bills of lading (the Hague
Rules).
2
Since the Second World War there has been a proliferation of maritime treaties,
especially after the establishment of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)
in 1958. Under the auspices of IMO, treaties have been elaborated dealing with a
multitude of subjects in the fields of public, private, and criminal law, e.g. safety of
life at sea, safety of fishing vessels, prevention of marine pollution, dumping of
wastes, control of ballast water and of antifouling systems, tonnage measurement,
prevention of collisions, training of seafarers, carriage of passengers, salvage, search
and rescue, limitation of liability, liability and compensation for marine pollution,
maritime transport of nuclear material, removal of wrecks, intervention on the high
seas in cases of pollution, suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of maritime
navigation and fixed platforms on the continental shelf, and recycling of ships.
Many of these treaty instruments were prepared by the IMO Legal Committee.
Some IMO treaties were developed by other Committees, in particular the 1974
Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), prepared by the Maritime Safety
Committee (MSC), and the 1973 Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
1 The CMI is an international non-governmental organisation the objective of which is to contribute
to the unification of maritime law. Until the establishment of the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1968, most maritime law conventions were drafted under
the auspices of the CMI, and the CMI has made valuable contributions to the elaboration of many
conventions also after 1968. With respect to the efforts over the centuries to harmonize maritime
law and the role played by the CMI see Hetherington (2014), pp. 159–182.
2 The Hague Rules were revised in 1968, and the revised version is referred to as the Hague-Visby
Rules.
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M. Jacobsson
global trade and uniform international rules are important for all stakeholders.
The question discussed in this chapter is whether there are areas in need of further
work in international maritime law in order to meet new challenges as a result of the
developments within the industries concerned and in society at large, and in particular in the light of climate change opening the polar regions to shipping and the
emergence of unmanned ships.
2 Development of International Maritime Law
in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
Systematic work on international harmonization of maritime law did not begin until
the establishment of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) in 1897.
1 Some
important maritime law conventions were prepared at the beginning of the twentieth
century. In 1910 two conventions were adopted dealing with salvage and collision
between vessels, respectively. A convention on the safety of life at sea was adopted
in 1914 in response to the Titanic disaster. Two important treaties were adopted in
1924, one on limitation of liability and the other relating to bills of lading (the Hague
Rules).
2
Since the Second World War there has been a proliferation of maritime treaties,
especially after the establishment of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)
in 1958. Under the auspices of IMO, treaties have been elaborated dealing with a
multitude of subjects in the fields of public, private, and criminal law, e.g. safety of
life at sea, safety of fishing vessels, prevention of marine pollution, dumping of
wastes, control of ballast water and of antifouling systems, tonnage measurement,
prevention of collisions, training of seafarers, carriage of passengers, salvage, search
and rescue, limitation of liability, liability and compensation for marine pollution,
maritime transport of nuclear material, removal of wrecks, intervention on the high
seas in cases of pollution, suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of maritime
navigation and fixed platforms on the continental shelf, and recycling of ships.
Many of these treaty instruments were prepared by the IMO Legal Committee.
Some IMO treaties were developed by other Committees, in particular the 1974
Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), prepared by the Maritime Safety
Committee (MSC), and the 1973 Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
1 The CMI is an international non-governmental organisation the objective of which is to contribute
to the unification of maritime law. Until the establishment of the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1968, most maritime law conventions were drafted under
the auspices of the CMI, and the CMI has made valuable contributions to the elaboration of many
conventions also after 1968. With respect to the efforts over the centuries to harmonize maritime
law and the role played by the CMI see Hetherington (2014), pp. 159–182.
2 The Hague Rules were revised in 1968, and the revised version is referred to as the Hague-Visby
Rules.
258
M. Jacobsson