Workshop on Implementing IMO Treaties

International Maritime Organization (IMO) treaties need to be implemented into national law so that they can be applied on ships flying the flag of a particular country and so that those countries can implement effective port State control and comply with other obligations under the specified IMO instruments.

According to the UN body, an IMO course provides lawyers and legislative drafters with the tools they need to understand IMO treaties, how they are developed and adopted - and the implementation of those treaties into national legislation.

Twenty-one participants from Latin America attended a regional workshop on the general principles of drafting maritime legislation to implement IMO Conventions, in Guayaquil, Ecuador (5-9 August).

Relevant treaties covered by the IMO mandatory Member State audit scheme were covered, as well as liability and compensation conventions. Participants learned best practices in the legal implementation process, with special attention given to the implementation of amendments to IMO treaties which are adopted through the tacit acceptance procedure.

The ultimate goal of the workshop was to leave participants able to develop national legislation and to keep it up to date to ensure compliance with the IMO standards.

The regional Workshop on the Transposition of IMO Instruments into National Legislation for ROCRAM Countries was organized by IMO and the Secretariat of the Operative Network for Regional Cooperation among Maritime Authorities of the Americas (ROCRAM), in collaboration with Prefectura Naval Argentina and Directorate General of Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine (DIRECTEMAR) of the Republic of Chile, who provided experts free of charge.

IMO sponsored 21 participants from: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela. Eight national participants from Ecuador also took part.