Law in the Book and Law in Practice: Criminal Liability over Vessel-Source Marine Pollution in China

Nowadays, criminal liability over vessel-source pollution is a debatable issue worldwide. For example, after Erika and Prestige oil tanker spill disasters, the EU adopted Directive 2005/35/EC, which imposes criminal liability over vessel-source pollution. This raised the Intertanko Case in the European Court of Justice. The shipping industry tried to challenge the legality of Directive 2005/35/EC under international law. China is now a great shipping power as well as the second largest seafarers supplier in the world. Meanwhile, vast sea areas under China’s jurisdiction are under threat of vessel-source pollution. This presentation addresses criminal liability over vessel-source pollution in China. Relevant international law is first described. Then the presentation focuses on Chinese legal regime. There is an article of environmental crime in the Criminal Law of China. The Marine Environmental Protection Law also provides a link to impose Criminal Law on marine pollution. However, until now, there is no report about criminal liability over vessel-source pollution in any Chinese court. The presentation intends to answer: why there is a gap between law in the book and law in practice? Should China follow other countries such as the EU to impose criminal liability over vessel-source pollution? If so, how to improve the regime

The European Union's Potential Contribution to Enhanced Governance of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations in the Arctic

This article focuses on the potential contribution of the European Union (EU) to an enhanced legal regime for Arctic offshore oil and gas operations. It first briefly describes existing international law for the regulation of offshore oil and gas operations in the Arctic. The article then discusses the development of the EU’s Arctic policy and the EU’s competence to regulate Arctic offshore oil and gas activities. Subsequently, it analyses potential actions and initiatives that could be taken by the EU to promote high safety standards for offshore oil and gas operations in the Arctic.Nengye Li

The Polar Silk Road and the future governance of the Northern Sea Route

This article examines China’s Polar Silk Road (PSR) and its legal implications for the future governance of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). It first discusses China’s economic and geopolitical interests in the so-called Polar Silk Road. The article then focuses on comparing Russian regulation of the NSR and Chinese regulation of foreign vessels as a coastal state. Both China and Russia are contracting parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The comparison of domestic legislations aims to provide a detailed analysis on convergence and divergence of their implementation and enforcement of the UNCLOS on issues related to freedom of navigation, especially when it comes to foreign vessels, including military vessels, within national jurisdiction. The comparative study, therefore, helps determine to what extent China could vocally shape the development the NSR regulations in an era of climate change

International Legal Framework on the Prevention of Vessel-Sourced Pollution

刘能冶,比利时根特大学法学院国际法系/海事研究所博士生。电子邮箱:nengye.liu@ gmail.com。［文摘］本文对预防船舶污染的国际法律框架进行了评析。第一部分重点讨论国际海事组织和《联合国海洋法公约》的关系。第二部分则分析了国际海事公约与《联合国海洋法公约》的关系。第三部分介评了相关的国际海事公约。最后,本文分析了预防船舶污染的国际法所面临的挑战。［Abstract］This paper examines the international legal framework of the prevention of vessel-source marine pollution.It provides an overview of current international framework.First,the study introduces International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC).Second,it analyzes the relation between Conventions adopted under the auspices of the IMO (IMO Conventions) and the LOSC.Third,it discusses major IMO Conventions dealing with prevention of vessel-source pollution.Finally,this paper addresses challenges of the international legal framework

Commercial Arctic shipping through the Northeast Passage:routes, resources, governance, technology, and infrastructure

The Russian and Norwegian Arctic are gaining notoriety as an alternative maritime route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and as sources of natural resources. The renewed interest in the Northeast Passage or the Northern Sea Route is fueled by a recession of Arctic sea ice coupled with the discovery of new natural resources at a time when emerging and global markets are in growing demand for them. Driven by the expectation of potential future economic importance of the region, political interest and governance has been rapidly developing, mostly within the Arctic Council. However, this paper argues that optimism regarding the potential of Arctic routes as an alternative to the Suez Canal is overstated. The route involves many challenges: jurisdictional disputes create political uncertainties; shallow waters limit ship size; lack of modern deepwater ports and search and rescue (SAR) capabilities requires ships to have higher standards of autonomy and safety; harsh weather conditions and free-floating ice make navigation more difficult and schedules more variable; and more expensive ship construction and operation costs lessen the economic viability of the route. Technological advances and infrastructure investments may ameliorate navigational challenges, enabling increased shipping of natural resources from the Arctic to global markets.Albert Buixadé Farré, Scott R. Stephenson, Linling Chen, Michael Czub, Ying Dai, Denis Demchev, Yaroslav Efimov, Piotr Graczyk, Henrik Grythe, Kathrin Keil, Niku Kivekäs, Naresh Kumar, Nengye Liu, Igor Matelenok, Mari Myksvoll, Derek O'Leary, Julia Olsen, Sachin Pavithran.A.P., Edward Petersen, Andreas Raspotnik, Ivan Ryzhov, Jan Solski, Lingling Suo, Caroline Troein, Vilena Valeeva, Jaap van Rijckevorsel and Jonathan Wightin