Flag State Responsibility

All of these flag States have the right to sail ships flying their flag on the high seas (LOSC Article 90) ; and those ships enjo y the freedom of navigation upon the high seas (LOSC Article 87) . W ith this freedom comes a concomitant duty upon the flag State to effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in administrative , technical , social (LOSC Article 94 (1)) and en vironmental protection (LOSC Article 217) matters over ships flying its flag. 1.2 Flag State Responsibility The absence of any authority over ships sailing the high seas would lead to chaos. One of the essential adjuncts to the principle of freedom of the seas is that a ship must fly the flag of a single State and that it is subject to the jurisdiction of that State. (Brown 1994 , p. 287) This opinion of the International Law Commission in 1956 on a draft article of the High Seas Convention (HSC) was a product of its time; a time of traditional maritime States and responsible long-established shipping companies operating for 3 the most part under the effective maritime administrations of their national flag .

The texts of the Guidelines for flag State inspections under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 and Guidelines for port State control officers carrying out inspections under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 are to be submitted to the 303rd Session (November 2008) of the ILO Governing Body which is expected to take a decision on its publication.

The guidelines contained in this book are an important international resource for implementing port State responsibilities under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC). They were adopted by the ILO in September 2008 together with Guidelines for flag State inspections under the MLC, 2006.

Jurisdiction over Ships: Post-UNCLOS Developments in the Law of the Sea analyses international law developments in shipping since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982. The Convention’s rules on the rights and obligations of flag states, coastal states and port states, have by and large been accepted and adhered to by states, but the legal regime for the oceans is neither complete nor static, nor was it intended to be so. New issues have surfaced while old issues have changed their character. Developments in law and practice have already resulted in some divergences between the jurisdictional scheme outlined in UNCLOS and how states in reality exercise their jurisdiction over ships. In this book, 18 leading academics in the field study a number of such developments in more detail, providing a practical guide to the state of the law at present while at the same time offering insights into how international law develops in this field.

This book is the first comprehensive examination of state practice relating to enforcement by non-flag states of the high seas conservation and management measures adopted by Regional Fisheries Organisations. It demonstrates that an exception is emerging in customary international law to the rule of the primacy of flag state jurisdiction in the high seas fisheries context.

This volume provides a detailed legal analysis of the fourth pillar of the international maritime regulatory regime, the comprehensive Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, and its provisions to achieve decent work for seafarers and a level playing field for shipowners.

This book assesses the state of practice and use of ship-bridge simulators in the professional development and licensing of deck officers and marine pilots. It focuses on full-mission computer-based simulators and manned models. It analyzes their use in instruction, evaluation and licensing and gives information and practical guidance on the establishment of training and licensing program standards, and on simulator and simulation validation.