Transcript TOWARDS A WORLDWIDE RESTATEMENT OF THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES

TOWARDS A WORLDWIDE RESTATEMENT
OF THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES
OF MARITIME LAW
Prof Dr Eric van Hooydonk
8th European Colloquium on
Maritime Law Research (ECMLR)
Rotterdam, September 2014
From enthusiasm
to malaise
• The sources of maritime law
– Lex Maritima & Lex Mercatoria
– CMI & IMO conventions
– Self-regulation
– National legislation
– Obstacles to uniformity
– Civil law instruments
Current status
of lex maritima (1)
• Declarations of faith
• Customs, usages and standard clauses
– Examples
– Rimaboschi & Maurer
– National legislation
Current status
of lex maritima (2)
• General principles of maritime law
– EU legal doctrine
– US case law
– National legislation
• Interim conclusions
The case for a restatement
of the general principles (1)
• Potential form and content
– What it is
– What it is not
– Working hypothesis of examples
• Potential uses
– Interpretation
– Inspiration
– Harmonisation
– Autonomy / specificity of maritime law
The case for a restatement
of the general principles (2)
• Working procedure
• CMI IWG
Conclusion
• Lex maritima exists but is of little practical use
• A restatement would make a valuable
contribution to harmonisation and disregard
of specificity of maritime sector