EDITORIAL

Covid-19 and maritime law – lives, laws and lessons
VINCENT J G POWER

DIGEST AND ANALYSIS OF CASES AND CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS

ARTICLES
Covid-19/Coronavirus and European Union shipping law: an interim analysis
VINCENT J G POWER
Partner, A&L Goodbody, Dublin

This article seeks to assess how the European Union has responded so far to the COVID-19/Coronavirus Crisis in terms of various aspects of EU shipping law.   It begins with a short overview of the general EU response to the crisis so as to set the context and then considers the various issues thematically including issues of health, repatriation, state aid, passenger rights, restrictions on travel and movement, the shipment of waste and port charges.  

Compensation for non-economic damage caused by pollution of the marine environment
MÅNS JACOBSSON
Former Director of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds

The article examines how compensation claims for damage to the environment per se and claims for other non-economic damage have been addressed under the international CLC/Fund regimes which govern liability and compensation for pollution damage resulting from tanker oil spills and how such claims have been adjudicated by national courts. An overview is also made of  developments in international law outside these regimes and in national jurisdictions as regards the admissibility of such claims for compensation. The criticism against the CLC/Fund regime’s restrictive approach is discussed, as well the option to revise the regime and the difficulties that such a revision would encounter.  

Institutional troubles within the International Seabed Authority: the growing politicisation of the Legal and Technical Commission
KLAAS WILLAERT
Department of European, Public and International
Law, Faculty of Law and Criminology, 
Ghent University, Belgium

Beyond the boundaries of national jurisdiction, the seabed and its mineral resources are governed by a comprehensive international regime, which determines by whom and under what conditions these natural resources can be exploited. The International Seabed Authority   plays a vital role by defining the applicable rules and evaluating incoming applications. As an organ of the Council, the Legal and Technical Commission performs key tasks and guides the law and decision-making process. However, the Commission has not been spared from criticism, with problems of disproportionate representation, shortage of essential expertise and lack of transparency. This article suggests suitable corrections, in order to find a sensible compromise that all parties can agree upon.

NATIONAL AND REGIONAL REPORTS
Pitfalls in Chinese law in the exercise of a lien over marine cargo and possible reforms
WEIDONG CHEN
Partner, Sloma & Co, Shanghai

BOOK REVIEW

Scrutton on Charterparties and Bills of Lading (24th edn)
David Foxton, Howard Bennett, Steven Berry, Christopher Smith, David Walsh

Index of cases
Index of legislation
Index