European Court Of Justice News

A Norwegian shipping firm on Thursday denied a tanker it manages had violated a European court ruling after Western Sahara's Polisario movement accused it of illegally transporting an oil cargo through disputed territory it claims. The Polisario independence movement this week called on the European Union and French authorities to seize a France-bound cargo being transported on the Gibraltar-flagged Key Bay because the tanker had made a port call to Moroccan-controlled Laayoune on Jan. The Polisario said the tanker's call to Laayoune had rendered its cargo illegal as it had violated a ruling by the European Court of Justice last month that two trade deals between the EU and Morocco did not cover Western Sahara.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Wednesday that damage to water quality must be considered when authorities approve river dredging to expand ports, in a ruling which could hinder expansion at the German ports of Bremen and Hamburg. The European Union's highest tribunal raised hurdles for approval of port dredging projects which could harm marine life, saying more consideration must be given to the potential damage to water quality and marine life. But it did not order…

"We respect the decision announced today by the Federal Administrative Court (FAC) in Leipzig on the deepening and widening of the navigation channel on the Lower and Outer Elbe. A final decision can only be taken when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has clarified questions still outstanding on the so-called prohibition of deterioration and desirability of improvement embodied in the European Water Framework Directive. These questions will be resolved by spring 2015 in connection with complaints against a deepening of the River Weser. "The FAC also emphasized, however, that while the environmental compatibility assessments in respect of the fauna/flora done for the planning approval for the deepening of the navigation channel of the Lower and Outer Elbe exhibit various shortcomings…

Austria will take the European Commission to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) if it approves Britain's plans for a 16 billion-pound ($26 billion) nuclear power plant, a spokesman for the chancellor said on Sunday. The deal to pay a guaranteed price for the power produced in the plant faces opposition from a quarter of EU policymakers, who want to overturn approval from the top European regulator. A vote is expected on Wednesday. The project, to be built by French utility EDF at Hinkley Point in southwest England, is crucial for Britain's plan to replace a fifth of its ageing nuclear power and coal plants over the coming decade while reducing carbon emissions. France sees it as a major export contract that will boost its nuclear industry.

The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig today adjourned the proceedings by the BUND and NABU environmental associations against the plan approval concerning the dredging of the lower and outer stretches of the river Elbe until the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg has reached a decision regarding a pending referral of the interpretive ruling on the Water Framework Directive. The 7th division of the Federal Administrative Court, which is responsible for waterways law…

Recent guidance handed down by the European Court of Justice which rules that off-spec fuel oil does not have to be handled as waste is a triumph of common sense which will be welcomed by all suppliers of fuel oils and bunkers. Shell Nederland and Shell Belgium were disputing a ruling by the Dutch environmental authorities (ILENT) which wanted to force them to handle a parcel of diesel oil rejected by a Belgian client as waste, when in fact Shell intended to up-blend the fuel to specification for selling on. Carel van Lynden, a partner with the shipping and offshore team at AKD in Rotterdam, says, “This is a good decision for bunker suppliers. This case reverses the very strict interpretation which ILENT had placed on off-spec bunkers.

Rotterdam based law firm AKD said a recent landmark decision of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg definitively puts its weight behind forum shopping to limit liability under the CMR Convention in carrier-friendly countries. This is a boon to the Dutch jurisdiction and specifically comes at the expense of the courts in Germany. The ruling had its origins in a dispute between cargo interests and carriers involving the theft of four consignments of Canon cameras during…

There has been a further twist in the long-running saga over the safety of shipping Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) into the Milford Haven waterway, reports the 'Western Telegraph'. Recently the European Commission issued a formal notice over ‘failure to comply with safety rules’. The EU’s Environmental Impact Assessment Directive requires such risks to be assessed and the findings to be made public. A formal notice is a preliminary step, which ultimately could lead to action before the European Court of Justice if a member state does not comply. It follows a long campaign to get risk assessments relating to the shipment of LNG released to the public.

INTERTANKO launches PhD Fellowship in Marine Pollution Law at World Maritime University. INTERTANKO is to fund a three-year PhD study into the emerging law and policy on criminal liability for marine pollution and the effects of this on seafarers. INTERTANKO will be working with the World Maritime University (WMU) and with the individual student chosen to undertake this important work. INTERTANKO’s Council has identified criminalisation as a high priority item for the INTERTANKO Work Plan.

The shipping industry remains firmly behind the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the architect of change when it comes to regulating shipping’s CO2 emissions, according to Peter Hinchliffe, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). While it is clearly in the interest of shipping to minimize its CO2 output by reducing fuel consumption, recently agreed amendments to Annex VI of IMO’s MARPOL Convention which – on a global basis – will make the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) mandatory for new ships, and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) mandatory for existing vessels, were ‘absolutely’ what had been hoped for by ICS.

The European Commission (EC) summarized the opinion of the Advocate General in litigation involving the damages arising from the discharge of heavy fuel oil from the tanker ERIKA. A complaint seeking damages was filed by a French commune against the Total Group on the basis that it was involved in producing, selling, or carrying the heavy fuel oil without actually carrying it. The advocate general, in an advisory opinion to the European Court of Justice, stated that, in accordance with the Waste Framework Directive, the financial burden of the disposal operations should be on the persons who cause the waste, whether they are holders or producers of the waste.

The European Commission (EC) issued a press release stating that it is proposing to streamline rules on protection in case of marine pollution. The 2005 Framework Decision was struck down in 2007 by the European Court of Justice. The new proposal will, if adopted, protect the marine environment through criminal law in a manner consistent with the court’s ruling. The EC also issued a series of Questions and Answers on this proposal. Source: HK Law

As maritime regulators in various countries prepare to implement the ISPS Code rigorously, with effect from next Thursday, analysts are watching shipping security developments closely. Recent reports from the International Chamber of Commerce, which publishes a weekly newsletter on global maritime piracy, indicate a spate of attacks over the last three weeks in Senegal, Cameroon, the Malacca Straits and Indonesia. Such attacks are nothing new: nor is the loss of life amongst ill-fated seafarers, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. July 1st also heralds the first deadline for the installation of Ship Security Alert Systems on board more than 40,000 of the world’s ocean-going cargo and passenger ships.

The European Commission taking Spain to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg over its failure to recover around 111 million euros in what it calls illegal state aid to its shipyards. The EU executive said in a statement it had asked Spain in early December to recover the aid, paid in the form of 18,451 billion pesetas in special tax credits in 1998 to the state-owned merchant shipyards grouped in holding company Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI). "Despite reminders, Spain has not complied with the decision, which it was obliged to execute within two months. Faced with such a situation, the Commission is obliged to act," it said in a statement.

On September 25, 2007, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg will hear oral arguments in the case brought by INTERTANKO and the industry coalition to examine the validity of the European Union (EU) Ship Source Pollution Directive. Members will recall that the case brought against the U.K.'s Secretary of State for Transport had originated in the Administrative Court of the English High Court. Judgment was granted in favour of the industry coalition in July 2006. The High Court had directed that the case be transferred to the ECJ as that Court has the sole power to rule on the validity of a piece of EU legislation. The Directive, which seeks to criminalise accidental pollution, has proved to be controversial from both the legal and practical standpoints.

Recent changes to Dutch law safeguarding the right of free establishment in Europe mean that ship registration regulations in the Netherlands have been relaxed. The recent change brings Dutch law in line with a 2004 European Court of Justice decision which ruled that Dutch national law, although apparently in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea which requires a “genuine link between the State and the ship,” contravened European law by being too restrictive. In the past companies could only register their vessels in the Netherlands if: At least two-thirds of the ship was owned by a European Community (EC) or European Economic Area (EEA) national company, and the business of the vessel was conducted by EC or EEA nationals through a Netherlands-based office.

Spanish fishermen who say they were unlawfully barred from British waters won permission from Britain's highest court last week to sue the government in a claim which could top $160 million. The House of Lords upheld a 1998 Court of Appeal ruling that a group of nearly 100 owners and managers of Spanish vessels were entitled to sue over the government's moves to prevent them "quota hopping". The practice involves foreign companies, individuals and organizations buying or acquiring control of British fishing interests, thereby gaining control over their quotas. Five Law Lords held that the British government's actions had breached its European Union obligations so seriously that the Spanish could take it to court.