Original scientific paper
Extra-contractual liability for pollution damage caused by a vessel
Vesna Tomljenović
; Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Rijeci, Rijeka, Hrvatska
Abstract
Damage to the sea caused by pollution from a vessel is in most cases international due to the fact that maritime relations are mostly characterized by a foreign element. Consequently, if no uniform international provisions are applicable, courts and other competent authorities, while deciding claims for compensation, are faced with the problem of conflict of laws. The Croatian Maritime Code does not contain a legal conflict of laws provision for extra-contractual liability for pollution damage caused by a vessel to the sea. The question is, therefore, whether the court in the process of determination of the governing law, besides the general conflict of laws provision regarding delict contained in the Croatian Act on Private International Law - which refers to lex loci delicti commissi - can in addition consider conflict of laws provisions of comparative private international law. The latter go beyond the traditional principle of lex loci delicti, providing that delictual liability can be determined by the law of the most significant relationship to the event and the parties, or by the law chosen by both parties or by a plaintiff.
In the article the appropriate conflict of laws rule for that particular situation is discussed. We would like to prove that in the process of deetrmination of applicable law for this specific liability in maritime law, the court must not limit itself to conflict of laws provision lex loci delicti commissi but has to consider the mentioned conflict of laws provisions that are part of comparative private international law, because this is required by specific factors of environmental damage caused to the sea by a vessel.
Keywords
extra-contractual liability; liability for pollution damage; maritime pollution caused by a vessel; conflict of laws; lex loci delicti commissi; Croatian Maritime Code; Comparative private international law
Hrčak ID:
201680
URI
Publication date:
20.12.1995.
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