Task 3. Choose information which refers to two criminal groups.

The Sri Lankan Criminals – (LTEE)

The Kurdish Criminals – (PKK)

19. Post listening task

Task 1. Problems for the discussion:

Speak about the Sri Lankan (LTEE) criminal activities at sea.

Speak about what the Kurdish (PKK) criminals at sea were engaged with?

Task 2. Contrast and compare

- What problems have been discussed in the recorded texts?

- What problem do you find to be most difficult to solve?

Section E

Skimming reading

20. The text given below deals with the International Maritime Law (IMO), which is recognized as a powerful means of binding relations between states as international entities. The IMO major components are regulations and treaties.

Skim through the text and arrange the number of paragraphs in the right order (line B), matching the topics (line A).

Before skimming the text see the notes, given below the text.

Time limit – 15 minutes

Be sure to know that the term “skimming “is “looking for a gist”.

International Maritime Organizations (IMO)

1. It has always been recognized that the best way of improving safety at sea is by developing international regulations that are followed by all shipping nations and from the mid - 19^th century onwards a number of such treaties were adopted. Several countries proposed that a permanent international body should be established to promote maritime safety more effectively but it was not until the establishment of the United Nations itself that these hopes were realized.

2. Today we live in a society supported by global economy which simply could not function if it were not for shipping. The IMO plays a key- role in ensuring that life at sea is not at risk and that the marine environment is not polluted by shipping – as summed up in the IMO’s mission statement: Safe, Secure and Efficient Shipping on Clean Oceans.

3. In 1948 an International Conference in Geneva adopted a Convention establishing the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the original name was the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization or IMCO, but the name was changed in 1982 to IMO. The purposes of the Organization as summarized by Article 1(a) of the Convention are “to encourage and facilitate the general adoption of the highest practicable standards in matters concerning marital safety, efficiency of navigation, prevention and control of maritime pollution from ships”.

4. The most important of all these measures was the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL 72-73). It covers not only accidental and operational oil pollution but also pollution by chemicals, goods in packaged form, sewage, garbage and air pollution. The IMO was also given the task of establishing a system for providing damage compensation. Two treaties were adopted in 1969 and 1971, which enabled victims of the oil pollution to obtain compensation much more simply than had been possible before. Two more treaties were amended in 1992, and again in 2000, to increase the limits of compensation payable to victims who suffered financially as a result of pollution.

5. In 1988 Amendments were adopted aimed to improve the stability of passenger ships after damage. The 1988 Amendments introduced the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). The document entered into force in 1992. In 1999 the GMDSS became fully operational, so that now a ship that is in distress anywhere in the world can be guaranteed assistance, even if the ship’s crew does not have time to radio for help, as the message can be transmitted automatically.

6. The IMO is also empowered to deal with administrative and legal matters related to these purposes. The IMO’s first task was to adopt a new version of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the most important of all treaties dealing with maritime safety. This was achieved in 1960 and IMO turned its attention to such matters as the facilitation of maritime traffic, load lines and the carriage of dangerous goods, while the system of tonnage of ships was revised.

7. The first conference organized by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1960 was concerned with maritime safety. This conference adopted the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which came into force in 1965, replacing a version adopted in 1948. The 1960 SOLAS Conventioncovered a wide range of measures designed to improve the safety of shipping. They included subdivision and stability; machinery and electrical installations; fire protection; detection and extinction; life-saving appliances; radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony; safety of navigation; carriage of grain; carriage of dangerous goods; and nuclear ships activity at sea.

8. The IMO adopted a new version of SOLAS in 1974 which incorporated the amendments adopted to the 1960 Convention as well as other changes improving the amendments procedure. Under the new procedure amendments adopted by the Maritime Sea Convention (MSC) could enter into force on a predetermined date unless they were objected to by a number of States. The 1974 SOLAS Convention entered into force in 1980. Since then, the Convention had been modified on a number of occasions.

9. The 2000 also saw a focus on maritime security with the entry into force in 2004 of a new comprehensive security regime for international shipping, including the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, made mandatory amendments to SOLAS adopted in 2002.Two initiatives in the 1990s were especially important insofar as they relate to the human element in shipping. In 1998 the International Safety Management Code entered into force and became applicable to passenger ships, oil and chemical tankers, bulk carriers, gas carriers and cargo high speed craft of 500 gross tonnage.

10. There are such international wateragreements as the Yearbook of international Cooperation on Environment and Development profiles agreements regarding the Maritime Environment, Maritime Living Resources and Freshwater Resources; International Freshwater Database; 1973 London International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, MARPOL; 1984 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea; 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (CIW); 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)and other global conventions and treaties with implications for International Waters.There are many conventions included within the Regional Seas Program of UNEP (the United Nations Environmental Program). Among them is the Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses (the Helsinki Water Convention, 1992) and others.

Scanning reading

20. The text given below deals with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea established to solve maritime disputes.

Scan t he text through and find the information about the chambers of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea as quickly as possible.

Before scanning the text see the notes, given below the text.

Time limit – 15 minutes

Be sure to know that the word “scanning” means reading for detail.

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is an independent judicial body established by the Convention to adjudicate disputes arising out of the interpretation of the Convention. The present seat of the Tribunal is in the city of Hamburg in Germany. In 1986 Germany offered to provide premises (a project in photographs) for the Tribunal at the expense of the Federal Government, including a substantial contribution from the city of Hamburg. The foundation stone of the permanent headquarters was laid on 18 October 1996. Pending construction of the headquarters, temporary premises were made available to the Tribunal as its first session just in October 1996.

The joint ceremony of the Tribunal, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Senate of the City of Hamburg for the official opening of the permanent premises took place on 3 July 2000. The ceremony was attended by the Vice-President and other judges of the Tribunal and high dignitaries, including the President of the Meeting of States Parties, Mr. Peter Donigi, the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Mr. Hans Corell, and other government representatives of international institutions.

The agreement between the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on the Occupancy and Use of the Premisesof the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in the City of Hamburg (Additional Agreement) of 18 October 2000 establishes the terms and conditions under which the premises are made available.

The Tribunal is composed of 21 independent members, elected from among persons enjoying the highest reputation for fairness and integrity and recognized competence in the field of the law of the sea. Pursuant of the provisions of the Statute, the Tribunal has formed the following Chambers: the Chamber of Summary Procedure, the Chamber for Fisheries Disputes, the Chamber for Marine Environment Disputes and the Chamber for Marine Delimitation Disputes.

Disputes relating to activities in the International Seabed Area are submitted to the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the Tribunal, consisting of 11 judges. Any party to a dispute over which the Seabed Disputes Chamber has jurisdiction may request the Seabed Dispute Chamber to form an ad hoc chamber composed of three members of the Seabed Dispute Chamber.

The Tribunal is open to States Parties to the Convention and, in certain cases, to entities other than States Parties (such as international organizations and natural or legal persons) (Access to the Tribunal). Unless the parties otherwise agree, the jurisdiction of the Tribunal is mandatory in cases relating to the prompt- release of vessels and crews under Article 292 of the Convention and to provisional measures pending the Constitution of an Arbitral Tribunal under Article 290, paragraph 5, of the Convention.

The Seabed Disputes Chamber is competent to give advisory opinions on legal questionsarising within the scope of the activities of the International Seabed Authority. The Tribunal may also give advisory opinions under international agreementsrelated to the purposes of the Convention. Disputes before the Tribunal are instituted either by written application or by of a special agreement. The procedure to be followed for the conduct if notification cases submitted to the Tribunal is defined in its Statute and Rules.

Admiralty Court is a court forming part of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court whose jurisdiction embraces civil actions relating to ships and the sea. The court’s work includes casesabout collisions, damage to cargo, prizes and salvage and, in some cases, assessors may be called “to sit in with the judge”. The distinctive feature of the court’s procedure is the action, under which the property that has given rise to the cause of action (usually a ship) may be “arrested” and held by the court to satisfy the plaintiff’s claim. In practice it is usual for the owners of the property to give security for its release while the action is proceeding. If the claim is successful, the property held or the sum given by way of security is available to satisfy the judgment. Until 1971 Admiralty Court was part of the Probate, Divorce and Division of the High Court.

National legislation lends its support to such economic activity as arbitration. Arbitration settles international commercial cases and law disputes on the problems of criminals at sea. For at least a century the arbitration has been the dominant force in the dispute resolution in areas such as shipping, commodities and construction. The main centers for International Arbitration are: Paris, London, Geneva, Stockholm, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. Stockholm was always the place for arbitrating east-west disputes. London – for shipping and commodities. As for the “name recognition” Paris is best known as home of International Chamber of Commerce, followed by London as home of the London Court of International Arbitration. Arbitration bodies try hard to get their arbitration clause put into contracts so they have a captive market once disputes arise. They do this by publicizing their activities and rules, competing intensely with other localities and arbitration centers. England has taken steps to improve English arbitration law in the form of the Arbitration Act 1996, which came into force at the beginning of 1997.

Notes:

Section F

Case Study

21. Protest Flotilla to Intercept Plutonium Shipment in the Channel

Background information

The British-registered ships, the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal, which belong to state-owned British Nuclear Fuels, have been specially built to transport nuclear waste and fuel. The ships which are double-hulled, each guarded by 13 commandos and armed with 30 mm cannons, are designed to protect each other They are transporting more than 300 lb of plutonium, taken from the decommissioned nuclear missiles, from America to France where it will be converted for use as commercial fuel. If successful, America wants to transfer tons of plutonium to Europe. At the end of the Cold War, America and Russia promised to dispose of more than 60 tons of the material from dismantled nuclear weapons.

Problem

The ships with more than 300 lb of plutonium with no military escort were to pass within 16 miles of the coasts of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset on 29 September, 2007. Maritime trade, shipment of commercial nuclear fuel from nuclear weapons is a real threat to the environment and life on the Earth itself.

The Flotilla is at the greatest risk of terrorist attack in the Channel, through which more than 400 trade vessels pass each day. Greenpeace and other environmental organizations have been questioning the prudence of transporting such dangerous material by sea, especially in view of the increased threat of terrorism.

Dr. Frank Barnaby, a former nuclear physicist, at the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment writes an article to express his protest on the issue saying that the effective coordinated international actions are needed to combat the offenders. It should also be of great concern to the Admiralty Law, which we know to be Maritime Law.

Tasks

Task 1. First you with your partners, then with the counterparts and then with the arbitration lawyers work out the possible suggestions to resolve the dispute according to the International Law of the Sea:

A. You as the members of the Maritime Environmental group are planning to join the “nuclear free Irish Sea flotilla” to intercept the boats when they pass the Irish Sea and when they enter the port of Cherbourg on the north coast of France.

B. You as the members of the Greenpeace group of protesters hope to muster a flotilla to intercept two ships carrying enough weapons grade plutonium to make 40 nuclear bombs when they sail into the English Channel.

C. You as the fighters for peac e are ready to express their concerns about nuclear prevention and terrorism and work out their demand for the moratorium on plutonium shipments by sea with which they will address the Arbitration Court.

Task 2. Now try your best to succeed in making a decision against weapon-grade plutonium shipment by sea as a crucial international activity.

a) You as the owners of the ships insist that you comply with the strictest maritime security regulations and give reasons to negotiate further plutonium transportation by sea.

b) You as the parties to the contract with You as the arbitrators of the International London Court of International Arbitration are trying to resolve the dispute on the problem of further plutonium shipment at sea. Detail by detail you and the lawyers are arguing it out and sign.