International Law - Current Issues at CMI

• Author: Stuart Hetherington
• Position: President, Comité Maritime International
• Pages: 51-57

(2014) 28 ANZ Mar LJ

51

INTERNATIONAL LAW:

CURRENT ISSUES AT CMI

Stuart Hetherington*

The Comité Maritime International (CMI)

The CMI was established in 1897. The late 19th Century was a period during which much was done to codify

and rationalise the law, both domestically and internationally. A paper given by Chief Justice Allsop in 2009

celebrated the Centenary of the Marine Insurance Act 1909 (Cth) and honoured the memory of Sir Mackenzie

Chalmers, who was responsible for three major pieces of commercial legislation in the United Kingdom: the

Sale of Goods Act 1894, the Bills of Exchange Act 1902 and the Marine Insurance Act 1906.

At the same time the International Law Association embarked on a project to codify international maritime law.

Out of those failed endeavours emerged the CMI, whose founders were Belgian lawyers, marine insurers and a

politician. Thereafter Maritime Law Associations were formed, first in Belgium, then France, Germany,

Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and the US before the turn of the century. The Maritime Law Association of

Australia was formed in 1973 and it was in 1977 that the New Zealanders came on board as well.

Since its early formation, the CMI has been responsible for drafting all the major International Conventions that

concern our every day practices. To list just a few: Collision, Salvage, Hague Rules, Limitation, Arrest of Ships

and many others. Between 1910 and 1979 there were 13 Brussels Diplomatic Conferences on maritime law that

gave effect to the work that had been done by the CMI.

There are some 50 National Maritime Law Associations that are part of the CMI family.

As its Constitution states it was formed for the purpose of unification of maritime law in all its aspects. It

promotes the establishment, and encourages the activities, of National Maritime Law Associations which are the

constituent voting members of the CMI. Its seat remains Antwerp, where it was founded.

It comm ences work on any project by appointing an International Working Group (IWG), which would then

usually start its work by sending out a questionnaire to the National Maritime Law Associations to ascertain

what the law in their jurisdiction is on the particular subject being studied. Thereafter it might convene an

International Su b-Committee (ISC) meeting to which interested bodies (such as the International Chamber of

Shipping, the International Union of Marine Insurers, the International Salvage Union etc), and individuals who

have a particular interest in the topic, are invited. A draft instrument (whether it be a proposed Convention,

Guidelines or Rules) is prepared by the IWG and debated, as in an international diplomatic conference, at a

Conference of the CMI, which only takes place every four years. In between the Conferences, Colloquiums or

Symposiums are held every year or two.

The Present Work of the CMI

(a) Review of the Salvage Convention and Recognition of Foreign Judicial Sales of

Ships

The two principal topics which were discussed at the Beijing Conference in October 2012 were a Review of the

Salvage Convention and Judicial Sale of Ships. The former had been carried out as a result of a request made to

CMI by the International Salvage Union who have been very unhappy with the Convention for many years.

Sadly, for the Salvage Union, the CMI was not convinced that there was a ‘compelling need for reform’. That is

the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) requirement before it will consider a new agenda item.

Work on the topic of Judicial Sale of Ships started on the initiative of Chinese lawyer Henry Li who was

concerned that the absence of a Convention in this area meant that sales of ships by order of the Courts in one

jurisdiction were not always being r ecognised in other jurisdictions. There were further discussions on this topic

in Dublin at an International Sub-Committee on 28 and 29 September 2013 and the project will, hopefully, be

* President, Comité Maritime International.