Damage limitation - shipping industry is anything but static
PLANNING a conference three years in advance is a tricky business - the shipping industry is anything but static. But, given the number of high-profile casualties of recent years, what more appropriate a theme for the 4th International Conference on Maritime Law than liability to pay damages. The conference, which takes place from 6-9 June, 2001, in Piraeus, Greece, will examine the legal regime for compensation in maritime cases in both Greek and international maritime law.
Organised by the Piraeus Bar Association, the conference takes place every three years. The first event, held in May, 1992, dealt with the protection of maritime creditors. The 1995 conference focused on ship operation and freedom of contract. In May 1998, the conference examined the legal aspects of maritime casualties.
With an anticipated attendance of over 600 delegates, this year's event looks set to be a truly international affair. Speakers include representatives from Greece, the UK, Italy, Canada, Spain, Hong Kong, the US, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa and Israel. Following the opening address by Vasilios Venetis, president of the Piraeus Bar Association, the daily sessions will be chaired by a variety of legal experts from around the world, including Leonidas Georgakopoulos of the University of Athens, Barry Oland, president of the Canadian Maritime Law Association, and John Hare of the University of Cape Town.
This year's event has three sessions, each tackling a different issue. The opening session will deal with contractual and non-contractual liability for compensation, looking not only at the two regimes individually but also at how they interact with each other. Among the topics under discussion are the attribution of liability for cargo losses due to concurrent causes, protection from non-contractual modes of recovery in sea carriage, and an overview of the various remedies. Speakers include Emily Dérogée van Roosmalen, president of the board for the foundation for Transport and Maritime Arbitration Rotterdam-Amsterdam (TAMARA), and José M Alcántara, president of the Spanish Maritime Law Association.
The second session will focus on reparation of loss, including compensation for personal injury and loss of life, and reparation in case of general average. Of particular significance will be the discussions on the impact of the ISM code on shipowners' limitation of liability, damages for wrongful arrest, calculation of damages for those injured or killed aboard ship, and the proposed amendments to the 1974 Athens Convention relating to the carriage of passengers by sea. Speakers during this session include Patrick Griggs, president of the Comité Maritime International, Aleka Mandaraka-Sheppard, founder of the London Shipping Law Centre (LSLC), and Nigerian attorney at law Emmanuel Achukwu. The final session will examine limitation of liability in maritime law in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, China, and Greece.
The conference will be held at the Congress Hall of the Piraeus Port Authority on Akti Miaouli. For more information contact the Congress Secretariat, Triaena Tours & Congress SA, Greece Tel. 01 7499 300 Fax. 01 7705 752 E-mail: cong...@triaenatours.gr. The cost of the conference, which includes conference material, refreshments at coffee breaks and the reception on 6 June, is $100 or EUR 110.