INTRODUCTION
Most legal shipping affairs are governed by international conventions, treaties, rules or regulations. They are commonly referred to as “instruments”.
They are created by international organizations such as the IMO, the United Nations, the CMI and others. Most maritime countries are a member of these international organisations and it may take months or even years of discussion and intense study before the instrument is adopted by all member states.. Beside the full member states, a number of organizations (e.g. ILO, ITU) and non-governmental organisations (e.g. ICS, IALA, IACS, etc.) may also be sent to the meetings as observers.
Once an international instrument has been adopted, its final act is signed by all member states’ representatives. Before it can become, it needs to be ratified by a number of contracting states and/or a percentage of the world tonnage. Some instruments may take as long as five years before they enter into force and some instruments may never do.
Usually the text of the final act is deposited with the Secretary-General of the appropriate organization. It is established in a single original text in several languages (usually English, French, Russian, Spanish and Chinese). There are also a number of official translations, like the German, Italian and Arabic which are also deposited with the Final Act.
Each international instrument gives, in an attachment or in a preamble, a number of articles with specifications relating to General Obligations, Application, Violation and Enforcements, Amendments, Entry into Force, Signature, Ratification, Acceptance, Approval and Accession, Deposit and Registration, Denunciation, Languages, etc. Hence it is important to read these attachment or preambles carefully as they can differ from instrument to instrument.
In principle, before an Instrument can be applied in a maritime country, it has to be translated into the language of that country (if no official translation exists) and implemented in the national law apparatus of that country. This may, unfortunately, take a very long time or in some cases, never happen.
One of the main problems with the publishing of international conventions, treaties or regulations is the updating of these instruments. It is therefore of vital importance to regularly check for the latest amendments to an instrument.
Fortunately we now have use of the World Wide Web where most conventions, treaties and regulations, TOGETHER WITH THEIR AMENDMENTS can be found. Hence, it is important to check regularly the web sites of the organizations who created most relevant international instruments.
Some of those Organizations can be found at the following addresses:
etc.
IMPORTANT REMARKS
Besides the international conventions, treaties, rules and regulations, most maritime countries
also have their own national maritime legislation. Some countries, like the United States,
Great Britain, Russia, Australia, some Asian Countries, etc. have a very consistent maritime
legislation, which apply in special circumstances, to particular traffics or types of ships, or to
vessels of less than 500 GT.
The "Law Books" Printed in this chapter CANNOT be printed. They serve as a reference only. For a printed copy, contact the Organization responsible for their publication, who will gladly sell you any of their publication.