Tratamentul echitabil al navigatorilor în eventualitatea unui accident maritim
Fair treatment of the seafarers in the event of maritime accidents

Summary/Abstract: The penalties for foreign ships that violate national laws and international regulations on marine pollution are well established by maritime conventions and international treaties. In practice, these provisions may be circumvented by making artificial, pollution non-related accusations against the crew, impracticable in the absence of pollution, but which are likely to enforce penalties involving deprivation of liberty. Both MARPOL Convention and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) prescribe financial penalties, except for deliberate acts of pollution. Mostly for political reasons, river states have chosen to apply criminal penalties to seafarers involved in marine pollution incidents. These measures violate not only the applicable international rules that grant protection to seafarers, but also their rights recognized under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Far worse, in the European Union any pollution incident taking place in the territorial sea or inland waters of a river state will automatically entail criminal liability, disregarding this could derive from a potential damage to the ship or from the equipment. The variety of cases in which seafarers have been detained or imprisoned against international law has prompted the International Labor Organization and the International Maritime Organization to develop a set of Guidelines to assist seafarers, coastal states, and national flag states in protecting their rights during the investigation of marine accidents. The article aims at presenting the legal aspects of the fair treatment of seafarers in the event of a marine accident, and the Guidelines developed under the aegis of the International Labor Organization and the International Maritime Organization.

• Details
• Contents