Preface
The origins of maritime law are said to be “veiled in antiquity and lost in obscurity”.
On the private maritime law side of the equation, it has meandered into the twentyfirst century from the Babylonian Code of Hamurrabi and the Manu Sanghita of an
ancient bygone millennium, and latterly through the Rhodian Sea Law and the lex
maritima and lex mercatoria of Roman law vintage through to the mediaeval
Mediterranean maritime codes. Public maritime law evolved relatively later in
time when states perceived it necessary and expedient to protect their national
interests in seaborne trade and developed navies for that purpose. In the public law
sphere, the concepts of res nullius, res publico and res communis began to unfold
from Roman times in the west although in the eastern hemisphere, custom and
practice embracing uses of the sea and corresponding rights had also taken shape in
that era and before. In the contemporary milieu of public and private maritime law,
age-old customs tempered by sophisticated treaty law have burgeoned into numerous legal regimes governing virtually every aspect of matters maritime.
This book is the brainchild of the lead editor who felt committed to give to the
younger genre of maritime law academics and scholars worldwide the opportunity to
publish alongside their senior peers and mentors. The co-editors fully supported the
proposition and an inter-generational team of authors was put together consisting of
highly accomplished, versatile maritime law scholars and recent PhDs, junior academics, lecturers and doctoral candidates. The editorial team recognizing the intrinsically evolving nature of maritime law undertook to produce this book as an
initiative under the auspices of the book series arrangement concluded between
World Maritime University and Springer Publications. The book reflects the prodigious efforts of authors from a wide variety of maritime law disciplines and
backgrounds representing no less than 22 nationalities. Collectively, they have
contributed 37 chapters covering multifarious maritime law subject matters. It is
noteworthy that the editors and authors hail from both civil and common law
jurisdictions projecting their different and distinctive legal persuasions. This is
particularly reflected in the works of authors comprising comparative legal analysis
of selected public and private maritime law subjects viewed from contrasting
perspectives.
ix
The origins of maritime law are said to be “veiled in antiquity and lost in obscurity”.
On the private maritime law side of the equation, it has meandered into the twentyfirst century from the Babylonian Code of Hamurrabi and the Manu Sanghita of an
ancient bygone millennium, and latterly through the Rhodian Sea Law and the lex
maritima and lex mercatoria of Roman law vintage through to the mediaeval
Mediterranean maritime codes. Public maritime law evolved relatively later in
time when states perceived it necessary and expedient to protect their national
interests in seaborne trade and developed navies for that purpose. In the public law
sphere, the concepts of res nullius, res publico and res communis began to unfold
from Roman times in the west although in the eastern hemisphere, custom and
practice embracing uses of the sea and corresponding rights had also taken shape in
that era and before. In the contemporary milieu of public and private maritime law,
age-old customs tempered by sophisticated treaty law have burgeoned into numerous legal regimes governing virtually every aspect of matters maritime.
This book is the brainchild of the lead editor who felt committed to give to the
younger genre of maritime law academics and scholars worldwide the opportunity to
publish alongside their senior peers and mentors. The co-editors fully supported the
proposition and an inter-generational team of authors was put together consisting of
highly accomplished, versatile maritime law scholars and recent PhDs, junior academics, lecturers and doctoral candidates. The editorial team recognizing the intrinsically evolving nature of maritime law undertook to produce this book as an
initiative under the auspices of the book series arrangement concluded between
World Maritime University and Springer Publications. The book reflects the prodigious efforts of authors from a wide variety of maritime law disciplines and
backgrounds representing no less than 22 nationalities. Collectively, they have
contributed 37 chapters covering multifarious maritime law subject matters. It is
noteworthy that the editors and authors hail from both civil and common law
jurisdictions projecting their different and distinctive legal persuasions. This is
particularly reflected in the works of authors comprising comparative legal analysis
of selected public and private maritime law subjects viewed from contrasting
perspectives.
ix