Cracking open the champagne for 100 years of Hague Rules
Peter LAURIJSSEN
Chief editor
It is said that there is always a reason to celebrate and that any reason to celebrate is a good one.
As to the centenary of the Hague Rules, celebrations could have started as early as 2021 since their text owes much to the rules that were adopted on 2 September 1921 at the 30th Conference of the International Law Association held in The Hague. Celebrations can obviously be held in 2024 since the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading, as the Hague Rules are officially named, was signed in Brussels on 25 August 1924.
However, whilst there are plenty of opportunities to crack open the champagne, one may ask oneself whether there is good reason to be cheerful.
Global Regulation of Air Navigation: Key Focus Areas
Ruwantissa Abeyratne
Ethics Press, 2024
Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne DCL, PhD, LL.M, LLB, FRAeS, FCILT, Senior Associate Aviation Law and Policy at Aviation Strategies International in Montreal presents his 40th book, titled “Global Regulation of Air Navigation: Key Focus Areas”, which will be released in January 2025.
This book commences with an in depth discussion and analysis of the 14th ICAO Air Navigation Conference held in Montreal from 26 August to 6 September 2024 and the key focus areas discussed therein. It then goes on to discuss in detail such areas as ICAO’s Aviation Safety Roadmap, The Global Aviation Safety Plan and the Global Air Navigation Plan, attenuating emerging trends. It delves into the intricacies of global aviation regulation, and explores the rapidly evolving landscape of commercial space transportation, unmanned aircraft systems, and advanced air mobility. This comprehensive guide also takes readers on a journey through the complex web of international agreements, safety protocols, and legal frameworks that govern the modern airspace system. Drawing on extensive submissions from key stakeholders like IATA, this work offers a detailed examination of how new technologies like GNSS, UAS, and emerging operational systems are reshaping the skies.
With a meticulous comparison of airworthiness certification processes across aviation and maritime sectors, as well as a deep dive into the regulatory approaches to unmanned aircraft and remote piloted systems, the book provides essential insights into the rules of the air, state sovereignty, and jurisdictional issues.
This book is an indispensable resource for anyone looking to understand the legal, regulatory, and technological shifts shaping the future of flight and space travel. It supplements Air Navigation Law (Springer, 2012) by the author. No other similar work has been published”.
More on https://www.ethicspress.com/products/global-regulation-of-air-navigation
One of the projects which the IWG on Judicial Sales embarked on following the adoption of the Convention was to put together a manual on the Convention containing a detailed article on the Convention, the Convention itself in 6 languages, the UNCITRAL explanatory note and various testimonials. This is intended to be used by civil administrators in their efforts in convincing their governments to sign the convention.
At the 2nd signing ceremony in Malta last week, copies were made available to all the attending Ambassadors accredited to Malta.
It was a great pleasure to be able to present the President of Malta with a copy of this manual edited by Peter Laurijssen who also attended the signing ceremony.
from left to right: Edmund Sweetman, CMI secretary general Rosalie Balkin, Bernardo Mendes-Vianna, CMI president Ann Fenech and Peter Laurijssen
At its General Assembly on Friday 24th May 2024 in Gothenburg, the Comité Maritime International (CMI), elected 3 new ExCo members. ETL editor Peter Laurijssen is proud to be one of them.
The Comité Maritime International is an international maritime law organization. Formed in 1897 in Antwerp, the CMI aims to unify maritime law internationally. It is the first and oldest operating international organization dedicated to maritime law and the second most important maritime organization after the IMO. CMI is the guardian of the York-Antwerp Rules and the mother of international maritime conventions such as the Collision Convention, Ship Arrest Convention, Limitation Convention, the Hague and Hague Visby Rules and many other instruments of international maritime law including the recent Beijing Convention on the International Effects of the Judicial Sale of Ships.
Peter is Legal Director at Compagnie Maritime Belge in Antwerp, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, President of the Belgian Maritime Law Association and Editor of European Transport Law.
ETL is proud to announce that the 1st issue of ITT – Journal for International Trade and Transport Law has rolled off the press.
For subscriptions contact info@europeantransportlaw.com or +32 476694580 or https://www.europeantransportlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Inschrijvingsformulier-IHT.pdf
Het is niet zonder trots dat ETL aankondigt dat het eerste nummer van IHT – Tijdschrift voor Internationale Handel en Transportrecht van de pers is gerold.
Abonneren kan via info@europeantransportlaw.com of +32 476694580 of https://www.europeantransportlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Inschrijvingsformulier-IHT.pdf
The Title of Professor of International Maritime Law Honoris Causa, was bestowed on IMLI Governor, Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Marko Pavliha (Head of Law Department, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transportation, Slovenia; Member, IMLI Governing Board), during IMLI’s 34th Graduation Ceremony. Professor Pavliha has written numerous maritime law books and countless contributions to highly regarded journals including ETL.
Through his work at the Comité Maritime International, the Slovenian Maritime Law Association and other international fora, he has greatly contributed to the harmonization, progressive development and codification of international maritime law.
IMLI is the IMO International Maritime Law Institute, established in 1988 under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its mission is to train specialists in maritime law. More on https://imli.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IMLI-e-News-No.-43-2022-2023.pdf
At an impressive signing ceremony held at Beijing on 5 September 2023, the UN Convention on the International Effects of the Judicial Sale of Ships was signed by no less than 15 States. Initial signatories are China, Burkina Faso, Comoros, El Salvador, Kiribati, Grenada, Honduras, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Switzerland and Syria. A series of EU member states is expected to accede to the Convention later this year once Brussels gives green light.
The UN Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships has been nearly two decades in the making, under the sponsorship of the Comité Maritime International (CMI), the federation of the world’s national maritime law associations that works toward improving and harmonising international maritime law. This is a very important step for international maritime law because, for the first time, we will have a convention which ensures that when a vessel is sold in a judicial sale free and unencumbered in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, that that title is given full effect all over the world.
ETL issued a special edition on the Beijing Convention containing not only the text of the Convention in all 6 authentic language versions, but also a commentary co-authored by experts who have actively contributed to the genesis of the Convention within UNCITRAL Working Group VI (Judicial Sale of Ships), as well as the Explanatory Note prepared by the UNCITRAL Secretariate and reflecting the deliberations of UNCITRAL Working Group VI (Judicial Sale of Ships). This‘bible’ on the Beijing Convention concludes with contributions by a number of professional organisations, representing amongst others the ship owning community, shipping financiers, flag states and the judiciary, expressing their support for the Convention and the need for States to sign and ratify it. Interested in a copy of this special edition? Enquiries at info@europeantransportlaw.com.
At its General Assembly on Thursday 8th June 2023, the Belgian Maritime Law Association – Belgische Vereniging voor Zeerecht – Association Belge de Droit Maritime, elected Peter Laurijssen as its 14th president since the Association’s founding in 1896.
The Belgian Maritime Law Association was one of the founding fathers of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) in 1897 and promotes the harmonisation and unification of international maritime law.
Peter is Legal Director at Compagnie Maritime Belge in Antwerp, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and Editor of European Transport Law.
On 7 December 2022 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships. The Convention is the culmination of work undertaken by the Comité Maritime International (CMI) and later on by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Its aim is to provide harmonisation, legal certainty and fairness to all stakeholders in judicial sales of ships: traders, ship owners, shipping financiers and creditors alike. The signing ceremony of the Convention is scheduled to be held in Beijing later this year.
The booklet edited by ETL and the CMI contains not only the text of the Convention in all 6 authentic language versions, but also a commentary co-authored by experts who have actively contributed to the genesis of the Convention within UNCITRAL Working Group VI (Judicial Sale of Ships), as well as the Explanatory Note prepared by the UNCITRAL Secretariate and reflecting the deliberations of UNCITRAL Working Group VI (Judicial Sale of Ships). This ‘bible’ on the Beijing Convention concludes with contributions by a number of professional organisations, representing amongst others the ship owning community, shipping financiers, flag states and the judiciary, expressing their support for the Convention and the need for States to sign and ratify it.
ETL welcomed more than 300 visitors at its stand at the Antwerp Conference of the Comité Maritime International.
Pictured (from left to right): CMI President Christopher O. Davis, ETL Editorial Coordinator Ilse Busselen and ETL Chief Editor Peter Laurijssen