Otvorena pitanja međunarodnog privatnog prava u Zakonu o trgovačkom brodarstvu (Open Issues of Private International Law in the Merchant Shipping Act)

Abstract

English Abstract: 2015 Мerchant Shipping Act attempted to modernize legislation in the field of water traffic and navigation. This comprehensive legal act contains more than twenty articles dealing with issues of Private International Law, including matters of applicable law, exclusive international jurisdiction, and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in merchant shipping. The authors provide an in-depth analysis of said provisions, and examine their key and problematic features. The overall conclusion is that, while some efforts of the legislator, e.g. by frequently using the closest connection as the connecting point, were commendable, the overall quality of the text is poor and its technical execution is often on a very low level. While some of the sub-par or imprecise norms can still be interpreted and their true meaning found, a number of them are so flawed as to render them entirely meaningless.

Keywords: Merchant Shipping Act, state affiliation of ships, contracts in the field of merchant shipping, exclusive international jurisdiction, interim measures