Law on drawing baselines 1. Background to the law The seas and oceans of the world had long been subject to the freedom-of-the-seas doctrine. This was a principle put forth in the seventeenth century with a view mainly to limiting national rights and jurisdiction over the seas and oceans to a narrow belt of sea...
Author: Tan Pui Yen
Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III)
Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) 1. Second UN Conference on the Law of the Sea Since the four Geneva Conventions had not resolved some important issues within the law of the sea, the UN decided to convene a second conference, UNCLOS II, in 1960, soon after the conclusion of...
Four Geneva Conventions on the Law of the Sea of 1958
Four Geneva Conventions on the Law of the Sea of 1958 1. Four Conventions a)Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone This Convention recognised formally for the first time in international law the right of coastal states to claim a territorial sea off their coastlines. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention read...
Ownership and Management
Ownership And Management 1. Registration Of Ships And Ownership Ship registration has two functions. The first concerns the public law character of ship registration. This includes: a) the right of a ship to fly the flag b) freedom of navigation in the high seas without interference from foreign ships c) the entitlement to protection by...
Ship Arrest and Jurisdiction on The Merits
Ship Arrest And Jurisdiction On The Merits 1. Outline Legal Framework For Obtaining Jurisdiction On The Merits The starting point for approaching the question whether the English courts have jurisdiction on the merits is by identifying whether one of the EU jurisdictional instruments is applicable to the dispute. Currently the starting point is Regulation (EU)...
Procedure for Enforcement of Claims in Rem
Procedure for enforcement of claims in rem 1. Arrest of a ship and the aftermath When the ship is arrested, the defendant may provide security for the release of the ship from arrest. The form of security may be a letter of undertaking by the defendant’s third party liability insurers or a bank guarantee. In...
Laytime And Demurrage
Laytime And Demurrage 1. Notice Of Readiness I: An Arrived Ship Unless the charter party contains special provision to the contrary notice of readiness (hereafter referred to as NOR) may only be given when the ship is ‘an arrived ship’. In the case of a berth charter party (e.g. one that calls for the shipowner...
Voyage charter parties
Voyage charter parties 1. Shipowner’s Obligations As To The Ship To Be Provided Under The Charter Party A voyage charterparty will contain a number of statements about the characteristics of the ship. In most cases, these statements are considered to be terms of the charter party, not mere representations. When such a term is breached, the...
Owner’s Implied Obligations III
Owner’s Implied Obligations III – The Duty Not To Deviate From The Agreed Voyage 1. Establishing the contractual route At common law, there is an implied obligation to proceed by the usual and reasonable route, which is prima facie the direct geographical route (The Nour). As part of the general obligation to proceed with reasonable...
The Construction of Marine Policies
The Construction Of Marine Policies 1. Principles Of Construction The words in a policy is to be construed in a commercial sense according to the understanding of merchants (Hart v Standard Mar Ins Co) 2. Consistency And Precedent The marine insurance market is characterised by the use of standard form contracts, albeit often adapted to...