Maritime Environmental Law

The course “Marine Environmental Law” can be taken as part of the maritime study field of 60 credits. If so, it ends this year of studies. It can also be taken separately and then makes a good combination with courses in international law and/or environmental law.

Recent decades have seen a rapid growth of partially competing claims on the sea and its resources, nationally, regionally and globally. Historically, shipping and to some extent fishing have been the dominant uses of the seas. Around 90 percent of all international trade in goods involves shipping. Now there is increasing competition from e.g. ocean based energy generation and distribution, aquaculture, marine protected areas, and recreational uses. Not only does this cause competition for space, it can also increase the likelihood of accidents. The seas are also changing, sometimes dramatically as a consequence of direct (e.g. overfishing) and indirect (e.g. climate change) human impacts. This puts the existing governance structures to the test and also requires the development of new legal and governance models for utilization and preservation of the marine environment.

At the core of the course is the environmental impact caused by ship operations, including regular operations as well as accidents. However, shipping is placed in a broader framework of the substantive and institutional arrangements dedicated to the sustainable utilization of oceans and marine resources. The course covers topics such as sources of marine pollution; principles of marine environmental protection; state responsibility for harm to the marine environment; private law based responsibility and compensation regimes for ship source pollution; the law of salvage, towage and pilotage; and maritime spatial planning. In addition to international public law and (convention based) private law regimes, the role of the European Union in marine environmental governance is also analyzed.

The course includes lectures with representatives from industry working with marine environmental challenges. One exercise is held in the cargo handling simulator at Chalmers Lindholmen.

The course is taught in English.

The examination is based on student presentations at assessed seminars, a take home examination, and an essay that is presented and defended at a seminar.