Maritime commercial malpractices and piracy under international law

The term ‘Piracy’ tends to be used in a loose, popular sense to refer to various acts of violence or lawlessness at sea which are not, strictly speaking, acts of piracy in law. In this article, the author examines the concept of piracy under international law and related notions such as hijacking and mutiny. In this context, he shows that the ‘malpractices’ of robber bands in such places as the inshore waters of Nigeria and The Philippines are not acts of piracy jure gentium.     

现代国际法对海上恐怖主义的界定

恐怖主义严重危害着海上航行和港口的安全。从恐怖主义和海盗的定义入手,以两者的异同为切入点,初步探讨海上恐怖主义活动的管辖权问题。     

海商法的性质与定位

海商法的性质与地位直接影响到一国法律体系的构建与适用。在我国,海商法是作为民事特别法的地位出现的,这包括固有性、专业技术性以及涉外性与国际性。不过将来可能会因为《商法通则》的出现而使得海商法的性质与地位发生一定的改变。     

Maritime transport and international seaborne trade

Drawing upon over four decades of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Review of Maritime Transport, this article considers selected key trends that have shaped the maritime transportation of today. Over the review period, a fundamental shift in the geography of trade has been observed, with developing countries increasingly driving growth in the world economy and seaborne trade, and becoming important players in global value chains. The specialization of countries, including in developing regions, in the provision of the maritime goods and services for which they have established a comparative advantage constitutes another major trend, a move away from previous patterns where developing countries were typically users of maritime transport services. The article also observes that bilateral freight sharing agreements between countries which were prominent in 1970s have largely lost their practical relevance, leading to a further liberalization of markets and resulting in overall relatively lower freight costs.     

海事执法走向法治《海事行政执法过错和错案责任追究暂行规定》

2004年12月1日,由海事局公布的《海事行政执法过错和错案责任追究暂行规定》(以下简称《暂行规定》)开始正式实施。作为配合《中华人民共和国行政许可法》所实施的一项新举措,它的出台不仅对我国海事执法者有着重要意义,而且也将对从事海事工作的人员产生一定影响。因此,该规定已引起海事领域内专业人士的关注。日前,记者来到交通部海事局法规规范处,找到了《暂行规定》的起草人陆立明,就该规定出台的背景、内容、意义等多方面问题进行了采访。     

Total losses and the peril of piracy in English law of marine insurance

Whereas the Marine Insurance Act 1906 provides substantial detail about total losses, very little is provided in relation to piracy in the said statute. The recent judgments in Masefield v Amlin by Steel J ([2010] 1Lloyd's Rep. IR 345) and then by the English Court of Appeal ([2011] EWCA Civ 24) have highlighted the difficulties associated with determining whether a seizure of the subject-matter of insurance, in this case cargo, by pirates, demanding a ransom, can give rise to a claim for a total loss. This is a very important matter which also raises issues of legality and public policy. This article examines the implications of this judgment against the backdrop of the English marine insurance definition of piracy and the intricacies of the law relating to constructive and actual total losses. The article concludes with the suggestion that possibly the marine insurance definition of piracy should tally with that in the domain of public international law, and further, that legislative intervention should be considered for the purpose of ascertaining the point in time whether and when seizure by pirates can constitute a total loss.     

The international legal instruments in addressing piracy and maritime terrorism: A critical review

This paper critically reviews four international legal instruments in addressing piracy and maritime terrorism - UNCLOS, SUA, PSI and the ISPS Code. Piracy on high seas is currently becoming key tactics of terrorist groups - many of today's pirates are also terrorists with ideological bents and a broad political agenda. The intertwining of piracy and maritime terrorism poses substantial risks for global markets, understanding that much of the world's energy and cargoes being shipped through pirate-infested regions like Southeast Asia. Through investigating the contributions and limitations of the stated instruments, several constructive recommendations are offered to improve their effectiveness in controlling and deterring piracy and maritime terrorism from threatening the well-being of the maritime industries in the post-2008 world.     

应对MLC公约的PSC检查

近年来,国际海事劳工公约受到了世界各国的广泛关注。根据公约的规定,在至少有30个成员国批准,且这些国家的商船运力占世界商船总运力的33%之日起12个月后生效。截至2012年6月14日,共有28个成员国批准其商船运力,占世界商船总运力的56%,预计该公约将于今年下半年达到生效条件,一年后全面实     

Maritime law issues related to the operation of unmanned autonomous cargo ships

The paper analyses the issue of unmanned autonomous ships from the perspective of international maritime law with a particular focus on crew related conventions and specifically SOLAS, STCW, and MLC. Our primary aim is to identify potential operational difficulties that could deter shipowners from investing or adopting the new technology. Our analysis indicates that there are several areas of ambiguity that would create impediments to a positive investment decision and deter shipowners from adopting the autonomous ship design. With these findings in mind, suggestions are put forward that could alleviate the problems identified.     

海盗袭击与海员——海运行业共同努力阻止海盗行为

10月21日,"海员发展与教育培训研讨会"在青岛召开。部海事局、中国海员建设工会、中国船东协会、亚洲船东论坛及其海员委员会、部分亚洲国家海员工会、知名航运企业及亚洲知名航海院校的领导、专家齐聚一堂,交流中国航海教育和海员培训成果,共同谋划未来海员发展和教育培训的对策和措施。针对目前海运界非常关心的海盗问题,亚洲船东论坛秘书长苑田勇一先生作了"海盗袭击与海员"的主题演讲,号召海运行业共同努力,阻止海盗行为。本刊特将演讲内容翻译整理,以飨读者。     

Erika判决：国家法律博弈国际公约

1999年12月12日，悬挂马耳他船旗的“埃里卡”（Erika）号油轮在法国西北部布列塔尼半岛附近海域因遭遇风暴断裂沉没，船上运载的2万多吨重燃油泄入海中，造成法国历史上最严重的海上溢油污染事故。随后，围绕该事故的调查与审理工作逐步展开，涉及原告与被告的范围之广、案件审理持续时间之长、影响之深远均为历史罕见。     

索马里海盗及其相关保险问题

<正>现代海盗袭击事件的频发性及其不同于传统海盗的特点,引发了若干涉及海上保险及相关法律的新问题和分歧、争议,各保赔协会也不断接获船东会员就此的询问,为此,国际保赔协会集团经过研究、分析后,以该集团名     

海商法下的承运人航海过失之探讨

我国的《合同法》是以严格责任制为原则,以公平责任制、过错责任制等作为补充,整体上体现出公平合理的归责原则。然而,《海商法》中的“航海过失免责”却似乎与其相悖。目前在法律界,如何修改《海商法》的话题被议论得沸沸扬扬,其中一个争论的热点就是“航海过失”留存的问题。本文就此提出了作者个人的观点,并针对我国水运法律双轨制之现状,结合现阶段国情,分析了保留该制度的必要性。     

国际社会对海盗问题的对策与管制

<正>随着现代海盗事件的日益频发,海盗问题作为非传统安全中的一个重要威胁因素已逐渐得到了国际社会的重视。2001年7月26日,国际海事组织表示将把海盗问题列入联合国大会议程,这显示出了联合国对打击海盗的     

A study of maritime security and piracy

This paper studies the contributing factors of maritime piracy by analyzing previous incidents that have been reported to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Part of the analysis is to filter those ship types that are particularly vulnerable to piracy attacks. The paper also introduces the guidelines developed by the IMO and the industry envisaging to minimize the risk to ships that are exposed to attacks from pirates. It further describes the initiatives taken to develop a sustainable mechanism in the high-risk area (HRA)¹ to suppress piracy and other maritime crimes. This study reflects the fact that maritime security and piracy issues’ importance has been increasingly recognized in the 40 year history of Maritime Policy & Management.     

海事请求保全和海事证据保全

海事请求保全是指海事法院根据海事请求人的申请,为保障其海事请求的实现,对被请求人的财产(如船舶、货物)所采取的强制措施.<中华人民共和国海事诉讼特别程序法>(以下简称<海事诉讼法>)第二十三条规定在五种情形下,海事法院可以扣押当事船舶.<海事诉讼法>关于海事请求保全程序的规定概括起来有六个步骤,即申请、担保、审查、裁定、执行、解除保全.这些规定多数置于海事请求保全一章的第一节"一般规定"中,表明其适用于各种形式的海事请求保全,即将诉讼前扣押船舶的程序扩大适用于所有的海事请求保全.海事请求保全的措施有查封、冻结和扣押财产三种.     

全球海上安全和海盗状况

目前海上的海盗活动日益猖獗,严重影响海上贸易运输的安全和全球的经济发展及社会稳定。文中针对目前国际社会难以解决这些问题的状况,通过对全球海盗的根源、危害等现状分析,提出一些有效遏制和改善的方式。     

通信对抗环境中的海上通信效能研究

通信已成为现代战争对抗体系中的重要一环,在复杂通信对抗环境下,使用无线通信手段的海上通信需要进行作战效能分析.从作战效能的一般定义出发,讨论通信作战效能的分析方法,并以短波通信中两种通信波形为例来阐述如何进行通信效能的分析.