Call for expression of interest

10^th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF MARITIME LAW

Young Maritime Prize – Piraeus 2020

Call for expression of interest

Since 1992, the Piraeus Bar Association organizes every three years, in Piraeus, which is the greatest commercial Greek port and one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean, an International Conference of Maritime Law aiming at keeping track of current maritime legislation and its implementation, pointing out any eventual misinterpretations and imperfections, indicate the appropriate solutions and contribute to the international unification of substantive law relating to shipping.

Already this institution enumerates nine (9) notably successful international conferences, which dealt with the current and the most interesting maritime law matters, in particular: the protection of maritime creditors (1st International Conference – 28/30 May 1992), the ship’s operation and the freedom of contract (2nd International Conference - 25/27 May 1995), the legal aspects of maritime casualties (3rd International Conference - 27/30 May 1998), the Liability to pay damages under Greek and International maritime law (4th International Conference – 6/9 June 2001), marine pollution (5th International Conference - 29/9 to 2/10/2004), the modern problems of marine insurance (6th International Conference - 4/6 October 2007), comparative and international aspects of the legal status of seafarers (7th International Conference - 30/9 to 2/10/2010), the function of maritime institutions in periods of economic distress (8th International Conference – 26/29 September 2013) and the maritime safety and security: legal implications to ships, cargo and the human element (9th International Conference – 13/15 October 2016). All papers, discussions and findings of the above Conferences were published in special volumes.

The 10^th International Conference of Maritime Law is postponed to Spring 2022 and its subject is “Protecting maritime operators in a changing regulatory and technological environment”. The subject shall be divided into five sections: The first will focus on the new approach, moving from “the protection of the maritime creditors” (interestingly, that was the subject of the very first Conference of 1992) to the protection of maritime entrepreneurship, from two points of view: on the one hand, new challenges affecting modern shipowning, such as the emerging transnational disputes and unilateral trade restrictions, and their impact on the secondary market of maritime transport . on the other hand, the organizational changes in the shipping industry (new forms of cooperation, the applicable law concerning foreign companies based in Greece, etc.). The second section will deal with the new risks for shipping operators, arising from the technological development (such as cyber risks, protection of personal data, autonomous vessels, etc.). The third section will examine the need for additional funding due to the new challenges and the available modern alternative financing methods. The fourth will be dedicated to the legal issues resulting from the interaction between shipping and the environmental regulations (such as the consequences of climate change on maritime contracts and the IMO regulations concerning the reduction of Sulphur oxides emissions from ships). Finally, the last section will “revisit” the traditional legal tools of protection and their gradual “shaping” or “distortion” (e.g. compensation of pollution damages caused by drilling platforms, limitation of liability, extra-territorial application, cross-border insolvency proceedings, arrest of ships etc.), based on a comparative reading of modern case law in several maritime countries.

The upcoming Conference is the sequel of an internationally recognized and prestigious “tradition”, established since 28 years, which provides the framework for the meeting and the fruitful exchange of ideas on topics of high theoretical and practical interest among academics, law practitioners specialized in the field of maritime law and actors of the maritime market from all over the world.

In the context of the forthcoming Conference, Piraeus Bar Association and the Organizing Committee, for a second consecutive time from the beginning of the institution, continue to encourage the participation in the scientific dialogue of young scientists and law practitioners, who wish to delve into the field of Maritime Law. Driven by the highly symbolic character of this year’s Conference and the commemoration of the founding of Piraeus Bar Association, the Piraeus Bar Association and the Organizing Committee are honoring the academic research and scientific progress by addressing an invitation to an essay competition under the title “Young Maritime Prize”.