International legal constraints to waterborne mobility: some controversial definitions

Description

Waterborne transport is subject to a variety of international rules and standards that constrain mobility all the while aiming to enable the introduction of new logistic solutions.

This presentation discusses constraints posed by international and EU law on flag and coastal States, and indirectly on private shipping and port operators, namely from the angle of legal interpretation. The facilitation of technical innovation is sometimes constrained by legal definitions that favor legacy systems of waterborne mobility.

Three examples are presented to defend this argument: the definition of navigable waterways, the definition of a crew and the definition of autonomy. It is submitted that good “blue governance” requires reassessing legal frameworks based on the changing technological setting in which such frameworks subsist.

Period	22 Aug 2024
Event title	Mobilities Controversies - Place, Justice, Democracy: International Conference at the Center for Mobilities and Urban Studies
Event type	Conference
Location	Aalborg, DenmarkShow on map